President-elect Donald Trump said he will issue an executive order on Monday guaranteeing that companies that help TikTok continue to be used will not be held liable for violating the ban passed by Congress.
TikTok suspended its service this weekend ahead of a Sunday deadline for the app's Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the video app to avoid a ban on downloads from app stores.
"I'm asking businesses not to let TikTok continue to be in the dark!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
"I will issue an executive order on Monday extending the time the legal ban is in effect so that we can reach agreements to protect our national security," the president-elect said.
Trump added that his order would ensure that companies that help TikTok continue to serve will be held "without liability."
Earlier Sunday, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who will become national security adviser when Trump is inaugurated on Monday, told CNN that the president-elect would consider allowing continued Chinese ownership but through a "firewall" ” to ensure that the app’s data is “protected here.” American soil."
In his Truth Social post, Trump said he wanted the United States to have "50 percent ownership in a joint venture."
"By doing this, we save TikTok, put it in good hands, and let it say (sic) rises," Trump said. "Without U.S. approval, there would be no TikTok. If we approve it, it could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars—perhaps trillions of dollars. "
"My initial idea was to establish a joint venture between the current owners and/or the new owners, with U.S. taking 50 percent ownership in the joint venture between the U.S. and any acquirer we choose."
Lawmakers and U.S. security officials believe the Chinese government could use TikTok to gain access to Americans' personal information to facilitate espionage. TikTok denies that China has any control over the app.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the ban, which came into effect on Sunday. Trump said on Saturday he would "probably" extend the deadline for selling TikTok, which has been downloaded by 170 million Americans, by 90 days.
But some Republican lawmakers, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton and Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts, said in a statement that "there is no legal basis for any form of 'extension'."
A person involved in drafting the TikTok law said there is no provision in the law for an extension after the January 19 deadline.
The law does allow for a 90-day extension if certain conditions are met, including evidence of "significant progress" on divestitures and a "binding agreement" that can be enforced, but only if those conditions are met before the deadline achieved.
Walz said in a separate interview with CBS News that Trump needed time to evaluate a possible deal to save the app.
"What we need between now and Monday is to buy the president some time to evaluate these deals, which would obviously be extremely problematic if they failed," he said.
House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC that he believed that when Trump said "save TikTok," the president-elect was referring to a way of "trying to force real divestment."
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order to prevent TikTok from operating in the United States, but was blocked by the court. His administration is also trying to reach a deal to ensure China cannot access the data. China's national security law requires Chinese companies to hand over data when the government requests it.
Trump last year expressed opposition to Congress's "divest or ban" bill, saying it would help Facebook, which banned him from its platform for two years. Facebook competes with TikTok through its Instagram app.