President-elect Trump considers executive order to save TikTok from US ban: report

President-elect Donald Trump is considering signing an executive order on day one of his administration to suspend the upcoming ban on TikTok in the U.S., the Washington Post reported.

A law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024 mandates the shutdown of TikTok if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell the video app and goes into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19.

The order from Trump would reportedly extend the enforcement of the TikTok ban for 60-90 days. According to WashPost, Trump and some of his aides believe the incoming president saving the day for TikTok — a beloved social media app with about 170 million American users — could generate public adoration as he ceremoniously enters the White House for his second term in office.

Sources close to Trump told the news outlet that the move is seen as illustrating Trump’s marketed persona of dealmaking.

Though President Biden and a bipartisan majority in Congress made the sale-or-ban legislation law to protect America’s security and privacy from a known foreign adversary, China, Trump promised during the 2024 presidential election to save TikTok.

However, during his first term as president, Trump issued an executive order that banned TikTok unless ByteDance divested from the popular app. In December 2020, a U.S. federal judge blocked Trump’s TikTok ban. Trump later turned to the social media platform to reach young voters for his 2024 campaign.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” President-elect Trump told a reporter last month during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm, Florida.

The report about Trump mulling over executive action to prevent the banning of TikTok comes days after Democratic members of Congress introduced the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, which would enact an even longer extension than the one proposed by Trump: 270 days.

“Tens of millions of Americans use TikTok for entertainment, business, and social networking, including myself,” said U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

“Americans should not be shut off from freely expressing themselves on the platforms they choose. I do believe that ByteDance should divest from TikTok, but it should be given sufficient time to carry out a sale. That’s why I’m partnering with Senators Markey and Wyden on this legislation that would extend the deadline.”

Congressman Khanna, whose district represents Silicon Valley, said the ban “violates the free speech of 170 million Americans” and “hurts the livelihoods of creators and small business owners who use the app.” He added, “We need laws to protect Americans’ data, but banning TikTok is not the answer.”