President Donald Trump issued an executive order telling the Justice Department not to enforce regulations requiring TikTok to spin off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.

The order, issued on Trump's first day in office, was intended to effectively extend the sale period by weakening penalties for U.S. companies such as Apple and Google that work with TikTok. It directs the attorney general to "take no action to enforce this bill for 75 days from today to allow my administration an opportunity to orderly determine the appropriate way forward." The AG should "send a letter to each provider stating that no Violate regulations and accept no responsibility for any actions that occur."

The order also directs the Justice Department to "take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties on any entity that fails to comply with the Act" and says they should be prohibited "with respect to any conduct that occurs during the specified period or the issuance of this order." Any previous period, including the period from January 19, 2025 to the signature of this order. "

Trump issued an executive order banning TikTok during his first term in 2020 and is now trying to circumvent the bipartisan law that took effect on January 19. Before taking office, he posted on Truth Social that he was "asking businesses" to continue working with TikTok, a move that could mean facing hundreds of billions of dollars in fines if Trump's guarantees don't hold up in court. TikTok was briefly down on Sunday but quickly came back online — though it was removed from Apple and Google's app stores and has yet to be reinstated.

It's unclear whether Trump can legally suspend the TikTok ban. The law allows for a 90-day extension if ByteDance announces a sale to a company that is not a "foreign counterparty" before the deadline, but not only has no such sale been announced, but whether it would be available after the extension is legally unclear. 19th. In any case, Trump has so far not taken advantage of the deadline — he has simply tried to overturn the law.

Despite such assurances, it may not be enough to convince service providers covered by the law to reinstate TikTok. As many legal experts have pointed out, these companies could face potential penalties of up to approximately $850 billion for violating the law. The law was passed by a bipartisan Congress, signed by former President Joe Biden, and upheld by the entire Supreme Court. The government can even take action against any potential violation five years after it occurs — the executive order wouldn't change that, although it might help give companies a slightly better due process defense against it. Companies may still not risk lawsuits over such huge potential fines, although they may also worry about angering Trump by refusing to work with TikTok.

On top of that, Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. government will own 50% of TikTok through an unspecified "joint venture" with a private company. It's unclear how this will work.