Investing.com — President-elect Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order to suspend the enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for 60 to 90 days, in hopes of securing an early victory in his second term, according to a report in the Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the discussions. The executive order, if issued, could halt the nationwide ban of the Chinese-owned app, which is currently scheduled for Sunday.
Trump has shown interest in saving the popular video app, and has been exploring unconventional dealmaking and legal maneuvers. He has a large following on the platform, with over 14 million followers, and has previously expressed his fondness for TikTok.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden last year, requires ByteDance, the Beijing-based tech giant that owns TikTok, to sell the app by January 19 or face an immediate ban. The Supreme Court, which considered TikTok’s challenge of the law last week, is expected to allow the law to proceed as planned.
Trump’s potential use of an executive order has raised doubts among some legal observers, who argue that the president’s word cannot entirely overcome a law passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department now at the University of Minnesota, stated that while an executive order would make the president’s intention not to enforce the law more official, TikTok would still be banned and it would still be illegal for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to do business with them.
Despite attempting to ban TikTok during his first presidential term, Trump has since celebrated the app as a way to undercut tech companies he dislikes and reach young voters quickly. TikTok’s chief, Shou Zi Chew, even flew to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach last month in a last-ditch attempt to save the app’s presence in the U.S.
To circumvent the law, Trump could push Congress to repeal it, or direct his attorney general not to enforce it. Other options include carving off pieces of the company for sale to American companies, or defining a “qualified divestiture” that would prevent the app from being banned.
During Trump’s first term, he pushed for the sale of a large stake in TikTok to corporate giants such as Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT). However, the sale of the company is considered unlikely, due to the political risks and the estimated price tag of around $50 billion. Furthermore, the market for short-video apps has become more crowded, with competition from companies like Instagram and YouTube.
ByteDance has stated that TikTok is not for sale, causing uncertainty and demoralization among employees at TikTok’s U.S. headquarters. Despite this, the offices are expected to remain open. Some observers believe that the U.S. and China could use the app as a bargaining chip in discussions about tariffs or international trade. However, this would require an agreement between senior officials from both countries.
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