President-elect Donald J. Trump said Sunday he would issue an executive order to block the federal ban on TikTok, just hours after major app stores removed the popular social media site and it ceased to work for US users.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok remain in the dark,” Mr. Trump said in an article on Truth Social. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the deadline before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security.”
The ban stems from a 2024 law that requires app stores and cloud computing providers to stop distributing or hosting TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Lawmakers passed the law because they were concerned that the Chinese government could use the app, which claims about 170 million users in the United States, to gather information about Americans or spread propaganda.
App stores and cloud providers that fail to comply with the law face significant financial penalties. Mr. Trump said in his message on Sunday that he would “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.” Mr. Trump did not provide additional details about the proposed order.
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump’s efforts will succeed. His executive order could face a legal challenge, and businesses subject to the law could determine that it does not provide enough guarantees that they will not be punished for violating a law overwhelmingly passed by the Congress.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
