The Washington Post reported yesterday that President-elect Donald Trump was considering issuing an executive order that would suspend the implementation of the TikTok ban or sales law for 60 to 90 days after taking office after the inauguration on January 20.
According to the news, with this decision, Trump plans to give the administration time to negotiate for a sale or an alternative solution. However, it is not clear how this happened. Because the law signed by current President Joe Biden last year requires Beijing-based technology giant ByteDance, which owns the application, to sell the application by January 19 or be banned immediately.
While this uncertainty continues, Mike Waltz, whom Trump nominated as national security advisor, answered Fox News host Bret Baier’s question on this issue. “If the Supreme Court rules in favor of enforcing the law, President Trump is very clear: One, TikTok is a great platform that a lot of Americans use, and it’s been great for his campaign and getting his message out,” Waltz said. “But second, he needs to protect our data, too. He’s a great negotiator. He’s going to get ahead of our executive orders.” “I don’t want to, but we will create space to put this agreement into effect,” he said.
Trump has reversed his stance on the popular app after trying to ban it over national security concerns during his first term in office in 2016. He joined TikTok during the 2024 presidential campaign, and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters. Trump, who promised to “save TikTok” during the campaign, said that the platform helped him win more young votes.