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President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday directing the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to establish a sovereign wealth fund, which he indicated could potentially acquire TikTok.
TikTok, with approximately 170 million users in the U.S., experienced a temporary shutdown just before a law took effect on Jan. 19. The legislation requires its parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the platform due to national security concerns or face a ban.
After assuming office on January 20, Trump signed an order aiming to postpone the law’s enforcement by 75 days. He has stated that discussions are ongoing with various parties regarding TikTok’s acquisition and expects to decide on the app’s future by February.
Trump also mentioned TikTok in a post on his Truth Social profile on Monday.
“GREAT INTEREST IN TIKTOK! Would be wonderful for China, and all concerned,” he stated.
Trump’s previous 75-day delay paused the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act from being put into place following a Supreme Court ruling to do so for the company to make a deal with an American company.
“I am instructing the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans,” the order read.
“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,” it added.
Trump previously wrote on Truth Social that he planned to sign the order to “save TikTok.”
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump wrote.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” he continued.
