On the day of his inauguration, President Trump signed a number of executive orders much like promised, including the one that suspends enforcement of the TikTok ban for a period of 75 days.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was voted into law as a bipartisan Congressional effort to prevent ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, from collecting the personal data of the citizens of the United States, lest they get used by the Communist Chinese government to encroach on the States' national security interests.
Specifically, the US attorney general is instructed not to enforce the act:
During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating) of any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act.
Entities that violate the act during this period are also exempt from penalties:
In light of this direction, even after the expiration of the above-specified period, the Department of Justice shall not take any action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period or any period prior to the issuance of this order, including the period of time from January 19, 2025, to the signing of this order.
Once the 75 day period is over, it is unclear what further action President Trump might take to save TikTok since Congress's involvement is normally required to alter federal laws. Furthermore, TikTok may still be blocked by various companies or platforms, such as ISPs or Google Play, in spite of the order by the new President.
Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! Wanted:
- News Writer (Romania based)
Details here