
In a move that quelled immediate fears but brewed a longer-term froth of uncertainty, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to postpone the TikTok ban for 75 days. Trump's gesture, temporary relief to the platform's 170 million U.S. users and creators, has left major app stores like Google and Apple in a standstill, withholding TikTok's availability for new downloads while the political gears grind, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The decision to pause the ban came after the platform went unexpectedly dark for over 12 hours on Saturday night into Sunday. TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew was reported seated among American tech giants during Trump's inauguration, a signal, perhaps, of political maneuverings beneath the app's precarious limbo. Yet, amidst these high-stake tech dalliances, local entrepreneurs feel the tension. "TikTok has given small businesses an unprecedented level of access to potential customers," Paige Serena, a Chicago-based TikTok influencer told the Chicago Sun-Times, "It’s frustrating that entrepreneurs could lose a major tool for brand growth overnight."
Trump's rescindment aligns with his accumulating 15 million TikTok followers, a personal stake that some view as influential in his decision-making process. His order not only spares TikTok but offers ByteDance, TikTok's China-based parent company—and Trump himself—a slice of time to navigate potential U.S. buyer negotiations or carve out an alternative future for the app's operations on American soil. "I think the U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok," Trump said on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
The stay of execution came despite Congress' blessing, and the U.S. Supreme Court's backing, of a ban should ByteDance fail to find a U.S. owner by January 19. “Executive orders cannot override existing laws," Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute director Sarah Kreps explained to the Associated Press, throwing shade on the precedent and process at play here.
Legal scrutiny in addition to business anxiety looms as the clock ticks on the TikTok saga. The platform's significant downtime before Trump's order caused a stir, leading some to question whether other companies, including internet hosting services and app stores, would trust Trump's assurances and risk potential legislative blowback. As the Justice Department stands as the usual enforcer of such federal laws, Trump has instructed the U.S. attorney general to not take any action to enforce the TikTok ban for the duration of the 75-day window, an order that reportedly could be challenged in itself.