President Donald Trump has ordered a 75-day pause on enforcing a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. as he floated the idea of partnering the app’s Chinese owner.

The executive order delayed the implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which took effect January 19 and would prohibit the distribution and updating of TikTok in the U.S.

Mr Trump had promised to move fast to save TikTok from the law passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden last year.

While speaking to reporters from the White House, Mr Trump said he was seeking a 50-50 partnership between the United States and its Chinese owner, ByteDance, though he did not provide details on how this could be achieved.

The 75-day pause is intended to give the new administration time to “pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”

“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally. Essentially, with TikTok, I have the right to either sell it or close it.

“We may have to get an approval from China too, but I’m sure they’ll approve it, or that would be a hostile act that could be reciprocated with tariffs,” he said.

In his first stint in the White House, Mr Trump attempted to ban TikTok in the U.S. on national security concerns.

The TikTok ban law was passed due to concerns that the Chinese government could exploit the app to spy on Americans or covertly influence US public opinion through data collection and content manipulation.

TikTok stopped working for U.S. users late on Saturday before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took effect on Sunday.

TikTok restored service in the U.S. on Sunday, crediting Mr Trump for making the reversal possible, though the outgoing Biden administration had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.

Mr Trump said he planned to set up a joint venture between U.S. companies and ByteDance and that the company could end up being valued at a trillion dollars.

Under the order, the attorney general must issue guidance implementing the pause and send letters to service providers confirming they will not face liability for continuing to host or update TikTok during this period.

This clarification was crucial for companies like Apple and Google, which would otherwise be required to remove TikTok from their app stores and block updates.

(NAN)