Donald Trump plans executive action to revive TikTok access, seeks U.S. stake in ownership

President-elect Donald Trump has said he would restore access to TikTok in the United States through an executive order after his inauguration on Monday, January 20. The popular social media app, which has an estimated 170 million American users, was rendered inoperable late Saturday as a law banning the app on national security grounds took effect on Sunday, January 19.

Reuters reports that Trump expressed his intent to negotiate a deal that would allow TikTok to resume operations while addressing concerns about data privacy and national security. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he said in a post on Truth Social, adding that such a deal would protect TikTok, ensure its continued operation, and safeguard American interests.

The shutdown follows months of escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which U.S. officials have warned could expose American users’ data to misuse by the Chinese government. Despite the ban, Trump indicated that his executive order would include provisions shielding any company that assisted in keeping TikTok operational during the interim period.

Previously, Trump had suggested that he would grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve once he took office, a commitment cited in a notice sent to users by the company.

The suspension of TikTok has reverberated across U.S.-China relations, the political landscape, and the social media market. With millions of Americans relying on the app for entertainment, business, and cultural engagement, its closure has far-reaching implications.

The U.S. government has never before banned a major social media platform, and the legislation passed by Congress provides the incoming Trump administration broad authority to block or demand the sale of other Chinese-owned apps. In addition to TikTok, other ByteDance-owned apps, including the video editing tool CapCut and the lifestyle platform Lemon8, were also rendered inaccessible in U.S. app stores by late Saturday, as stated in a Reuters report.

The shutdown was enforced under a law passed last year and upheld by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling on January 17, 2025. The legislation required TikTok to sever ties with its China-based parent or shut down its U.S. operations by January 19 in order to comply with national security concerns.