The app had stopped working for its 170 million American users on Saturday evening, January 18, after a law banning it on national security grounds took effect. However, Trump announced on Sunday that he would issue an executive order to delay the implementation of the law, allowing time for a deal to be made.
TikTok promptly resumed services, and a popup message even thanked Trump by name. The company expressed gratitude to the incoming president for providing clarity and assurance, and committed to working with him on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the US.
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Interestingly, Trump had previously supported a ban on TikTok, but his change of heart has raised questions about his legal authority to delay the implementation of the law. Nevertheless, it’s expected that his government won’t enforce the ban if he issues an executive order.
This development comes after the US Supreme Court upheld the law requiring TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, to sell its US operations to avoid a ban. Bytedance had previously ignored this law.
