By David Shepardson and Katie Paul

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday seeking to delay for 75 days the implementation of a ban on popular short-video app TikTok that was set to shut down on January 19.

While signing the order, Trump suggested that the United States government should be a half-owner of TikTok’s US business in return for keeping the app alive and warned that he could impose tariffs on China if Beijing will fail to approve a US deal with TikTok.

The executive order ends 48 hours of legal maneuvering and political intrigue that left millions of TikTokkers in the US scrambling for answers about the fate of their app.

The drama began on Saturday when the short video app used by 170 million Americans was taken offline for users ahead of a law that said it must be sold to Chinese owner ByteDance. of national security, or ban, took effect on Sunday.

The next day Trump said he had a plan to “Save TikTok”. Within hours, the company began restoring its service in the US, thanking the incoming President for assuring TikTok and its business partners that they would not face large fines to continue. the application.

The app and website are operational as of Monday, but TikTok is still not available for download on the Apple (NASDAQ:) and Google app stores.

Trump’s order, signed hours after he was inaugurated on Monday, mirrored his earlier promises and ordered the attorney general to suspend the law to give his team time “to determine the appropriate course of action.” related to TikTok.”

But the legality of Trump’s executive order is unclear. The law requiring the divestiture was passed by a large majority in Congress, signed by President Joe Biden, and upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court.

The law also does not give Trump the authority to extend the deadline unless ByteDance has “binding agreements” to sell TikTok and it is not clear that such agreements exist.

ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Representative Frank Pallone said Trump’s order was “to prevent national security legislation that was passed by a very bipartisan majority in Congress.”

TENSE RELATIONS WITH CHINA

The debate over TikTok comes at a tense moment in US-China relations. Trump has said he wants to put tariffs on China but has also indicated he hopes to have more direct contact with the Chinese leader.

While signing the executive order on Monday night, Trump said he could “see” the US government taking a 50% stake in TikTok and as part of the stake, the US could police the site.

Trump added that if a deal is not approved by China, “there is no value. So if we create that value, why shouldn’t we be entitled to half?” He said the company could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The US has never banned a major social media platform. The law passed last year gives the Trump administration the authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps.

Trump’s rescue of TikTok represents a change in stance from his first term in office. In 2020, he unsuccessfully sought to ban the app — as well as Tencent’s WeChat — over concerns that the company was sharing Americans’ personal information with the Chinese government.

Recently, Trump said he has “a warm place in my heart for TikTok,” crediting the app with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election.

Later in 2020, Trump blessed an agreement for a new ownership structure with Walmart (NYSE: ) and Oracle (NYSE: ) agreeing to take ownership stakes in the bag company.

Trump said the agreement would include the companies paying for a $5 billion US education fund as part of the deal. The deal eventually fell apart.

It is unprecedented for the US government to demand an equity stake in a major company in exchange for approval of its continued use.

Trump’s comments also did not address whether ByteDance or other Chinese entities would be allowed to hold a stake in TikTok or whether the deal would address US national security concerns about US user data.

The order directs the Department of Justice to issue letters to companies such as Apple, Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Google and Oracle that provide services to TikTok “saying that there is no violation of the law and no liable for any conduct occurring during the period specified above.”

It’s not yet clear whether Trump’s order will be enough to convince Alphabet’s Google and Apple to bring the app back to stores in the United States.

That announcement came as China indicated for the first time that it was open to a transaction that would keep TikTok operating in the US.

When asked about the restoration of the app and Trump’s desire for a deal, China’s foreign ministry told a regular news briefing on Monday that it believed the companies should “decide independently” about in their operations and deals.

It repeated the same comment Tuesday when asked about Trump’s executive order.