Donald Trump may have this plan to save TikTok from shutdown

Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to delay the TikTok ban, providing its China-based parent company Bytedance some time to negotiate a sale or find an alternative solution for the Chinese-owned app, which is likely to be banned in the US on Sunday (December 19).

According to a report by The Washington Post, the President-elect is considering an executive order that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days once he takes office. This effort, however, is legally questionable, the report added.

“Trump has been mulling ways to save the day for the wildly popular video app, talking through unconventional dealmaking and legal maneuvers such as an executive order that would unravel the law passed by Congress last year with bipartisan support,” the report cited two people familiar with the deliberations as saying.

Trump is ‘famous’ on TikTok

The report says that Trump is keen on being seen as rescuing a platform where he is widely admired. This has led political aides and business allies to scramble for options to fulfill his campaign promise to “save TikTok,” as he has mentioned repeatedly on his TikTok account, which boasts over 14 million followers.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said last month. The main challenge is how to achieve this. One source mentioned that Trump is eager to be seen as “making a deal,” after he assumed office.

A law signed by President Joe Biden last year requires the app’s owner, Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance, to sell the app by January 19 – just one day before Trump’s inauguration – or face an immediate ban. The Supreme Court, which considered TikTok's challenge of the law last week, is expected to allow the law to proceed but has not yet issued a ruling.
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