President Donald Trump has issued an executive order The Justice Department has been told not to enforce a rule that would require TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.
The order, issued on Trump's first day in office, effectively bypasses the deadline established by The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for ByteDance to sell its stake by reducing fines on US companies like Apple and Google that work with TikTok. To increase it properly. It directs the Attorney General “to take no action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course in an orderly manner.” The AG is required to “issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of law and no liability for any conduct.”
The order further directs the Justice Department “not to take any action to enforce the Act or impose any penalty against any entity for any non-compliance with the Act” and says they are required to “take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalty against any entity for any non-compliance with the Act.” should also be stopped from doing so. The specified period or any period before the issue of this order, including the period from January 19, 2025 till the signing of this order.''
Trump, who issued an executive order ban on tiktok During his first term in office in 2020, he is now trying to circumvent the bipartisan law that took effect on January 19. He Posted on Truth Social Before taking up the post he was “telling companies” to keep working with TikTok, a move that could mean taking a risk hundreds of billions of dollars in fines If Trump's assurances do not hold up in court. TikTok went down briefly on Sunday, but was soon back online it was removed There is no more withdrawal from Apple and Google's app stores.
It's unclear whether Trump can legally stop the TikTok ban. If ByteDance announces a sale to a non-“foreign competitor”-based company before the deadline, the law allows a 90-day extension, but not only is such a sale not announced, but it is legally prohibited. Unclear whether the extension can be used after the deadline. 19th. In any case, Trump isn't using the deadline yet — he's merely attempting to kill the law.
Despite that assurance, it may still not be enough to convince service providers to reinstate TikTok under the law. As many legal experts have pointed out, those companies Could face up to $850 billion in potential fines For violating the law – which was passed by a bipartisan Congress, signed by former President Joe Biden, and The entire Supreme Court upheld itThe government can still take action on any potential violations after five years – and an executive order doesn't change that, although it might help give companies slightly better due process protections to fight it. The companies still may not risk litigation over such large potential fines, though they may also be wary of angering Trump by refusing to work with TikTok.
In addition to all this, the order states that it “is not intended to, and does not, create any rights or advantages, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States”. , which makes it similar. Less reliable as a defense for companies.
Trump also announced this on Sunday US government It will own a 50 percent stake in TikTok through an obscure “joint venture” with a private company. It is not clear how this will work.