Among over a dozen executive orders signed by the new US President Donald Trump on the first day of assuming office was one granting reprieve to short-video app TikTok. Trump signed an executive order that extended operations of TikTok by 75 days in the US, against a Supreme Court order according to which the app should have shut operations in the country by Sunday.
“I am instructing the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans,” said the executive order signed by Trump.
The Joe Biden administration enacted the ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ in April last year and as per the Act, the law mandates ByteDance to either sell the company to a non-Chinese owner or shut down operations in the US. The law was enacted citing national security concerns.
As per the law, TikTok's parent company ByteDance had 270 days to divest from the app or face a ban from US app stores. January 19 was the last date for TikTok to enforce the actions. The popular video-sharing app is used by 170 million Americans and it went dark during the late hours of Saturday. However, some users said they were able to access the app on Sunday, reportedly after Trump ensured service providers no action would be taken against them.
“During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any non-compliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating) of any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act,” the executive order reads.
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Saying he has unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, Trump said, “To fulfil those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”
“The unfortunate timing of section 2(a) of the Act one day before I took office as the 47th President of the United States interferes with my ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the Act's prohibitions before they take effect,” it read.
Earlier, Trump had suggested 50 per cent of the app could be owned by the US so that they could monitor its operations.
