Trump postpones 75-day ban on TikTok in the US
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order ordering the Department of Justice not to temporarily impose fines on US companies that cooperate with TikTok.
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In particular, the order pauses the requirement that TikTok separate from its Chinese parent ByteDance or face a ban on the use of the app in the United States. The executive order gives the Department of Justice 75 days to review the matter, allowing the Trump administration to determine the next steps.
This step effectively extends the period during which TikTok can operate in the US without the threat of a ban. The Secretary of Justice has been instructed not to impose sanctions on companies such as Apple and Google that provide access to TikTok and to send them letters confirming that they have not violated the law.
According to the decree, no fines will be imposed for violations of the law until 75 days after the signing of the order, even if these violations occurred before this period.
However, the executive order does not change the very essence of the law, which was passed by Congress and upheld by the US Supreme Court. Trump is trying to circumvent the new law, which came into force on 19 January 2025. It provides for large fines for companies that continue to cooperate with TikTok.
Despite Trump's promises, it is unclear whether US companies will be willing to resume cooperation with TikTok, as the risk of heavy fines remains.
Trump has said that the US government plans to acquire a 50% stake in TikTok through an unspecified "joint venture" with a private company. This means that the US government could become a partial owner of TikTok, but the details of this deal have not yet been disclosed.
Source: White House
