President Trump delays enforcement of TikTok ban amid ongoing negotiations
Commerce Department stops app store removal while ByteDance and U.S. entities seek resolution
Move seen as strategic amid legal, political, and national security debates
The clock has been turned back on TikTok’s demise in the U.S. President Trump has signed an executive order postponing the Congressionally-mandated ban on the popular video-sharing app.
The decision came just hours before the Commerce Department was set to enforce a mandate that would have removed TikTok from U.S. app stores, a move expected to impact millions of users and provoke significant backlash.
The delay gives ByteDance, TikTok's China-based parent company, more time to finalize negotiations with U.S. companies to restructure ownership in a way that satisfies American security requirements.
A tactical pause
Administration officials confirmed the delay was intended to give space for ongoing discussions involving ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart, who are part of a potential deal to create a new U.S.-based entity known as TikTok Global. This deal, first proposed in 2020, has undergone several iterations, with concerns ranging from data security to operational control.
The Trump administration had previously argued that TikTok’s data collection practices posed a significant threat to national security, citing fears that American user data could be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party. In response, TikTok has repeatedly denied these allegations, asserting that its data centers are outside of China and that it maintains strict privacy protocols.
The decision to delay enforcement also comes as several lawsuits challenge the legality of the ban. TikTok and a group of American content creators filed separate legal complaints, arguing the legislation passed by Congress violates the U.S. Constitution.
For now, TikTok remains operational in the United States, and the app’s estimated 100 million American users can continue posting, sharing, and scrolling uninterrupted. However, the future is far from certain.