President issues decree allowing the application to operate while government analyzes impacts of the measure that banned the platform
The President of the United States, (Republican Party), issued a decree on Monday (20.Jan.2025) that prevents the banning of TikTok in the country for 75 days, until the company can resolve legal issues to comply with the US national security laws.
According to the decree, the United States Department of Justice will not be able to take legal action or impose penalties against the company during the period. The deadline starts from Sunday (19 January). Here is the full text in (PDF – 175 kB) and (PDF – 176 kB);
In the text of the decree, Trump says that the 75-day period is so that he and his government can “determine the best path forward regarding action against TikTok”.
The North American president cited the fact that the social network has 170 million users in the United States and said he will analyze it, along with “heads of relevant departments”, a solution that guarantees the country’s security and also “save the platform”.
Trump stated that he regretted that the deadline that the United States Court had set for TikTok to sell its operations in the country, avoiding the overthrow of the social network, ended 1 day before the Republican’s official inauguration.
“The timing interfered with my ability to analyze the impact of the act’s prohibitions on national security and foreign policy implications before it took effect.”, said the president.
The Republican had already the return of TikTok in the United States on the eve of the inauguration, on Sunday (19 January), during a victory rally in Capital One Arenaem Washington, D.C.
“Starting today, TikTok is back”, he stated. The application was banned because of new federal legislation that forced ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to .
A rede social Trump after managing to reestablish the application in the country. In no X (formerly Twitter), TikTok attributed to the Republican the repeal of the measure approved by Congress in 2024 and for guaranteeing the “necessary clarity and security” for the platform’s operation in the United States.
“According to our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing much-needed clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face penalties while providing TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and enabling more than 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the 1st Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that will keep TikTok in the United States,” the platform said.
Trump’s plan consists of creating a joint venture with 50% North American participation in controlling the application.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% share in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep the app in good hands, and allow it to stay active. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars — perhaps trillions”, said the president, on social media, on Sunday (19 January).
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
The law that prevents the download of TikTok was approved by Congress and sanctioned by the then American president, Joe Biden (Democratic Party), in April 2024. The US government defended the ban on the application based on the alleged collection of confidential data from the North -Americans, which would pose a risk to national security.
The legislation set a deadline of January 19, 2025 for TikTok to sell its operations in the country to a North American buyer. As the negotiation was not sealed, hosting services in the US were banned from working with TikTok.
ByteDance denies accusations of collecting confidential data. The company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, even considered going to the inauguration of US President-elect, Donald Trump, on Monday (20 January).
