Trump orders Justice Department to not enforce TikTok ban

Washington — President Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the Justice Department to not enforce a law that effectively bans TikTok for 75 days. 

It directs the Justice Department not to take action or impose penalties against “any entity for any noncompliance” with the law. 

The widely popular short-form video app briefly shuttered in the U.S. this weekend hours before a bipartisan law that gave TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance until Jan. 19 to divest or be cut off from U.S. app stores and web-hosting services went into effect. 

TikTok said a sale wasn’t possible in the nine-month timeframe it was given and challenged the law, but that challenge was rejected by a unanimous Supreme Court decision on Friday. 

Mr. Trump, who sought to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term, vowed to “save” TikTok before he was sworn in this time around. On Monday, he said the U.S. “has bigger problems” and added that he had a “warm spot” for the app. 

The order says the Trump administration will review sensitive intelligence related to the national security concerns “and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.” 

“I have the unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.  To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” the order says.