Yahoo Finance

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• TikTok said Sunday it's in the process of restoring service after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday to delay the Chinese-owned app's ban in the U.S.

• Trump also said he wants 50% U.S. ownership of the Chinese-controlled app.

• The app went "dark" Sunday after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law requiring its parent ByteDance sell the platform or face a ban in the country.
  

TikTok said Sunday it was in the process of restoring access to its app after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday to delay banning the Chinese-owned social media app.

Trump, whose inauguration is at noon ET on Monday, also said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he wants the U.S. to own half of TikTok.

"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service," TikTok said in a post on X. "We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."

The app went "dark" on Sunday after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law requiring its parent ByteDance sell the platform or face a U.S. ban. A law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April required that TikTok's Chinese parent company divest the short-video site Jan. 19 or not be allowed to operate in the U.S. on national security grounds.

"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," Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. "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 Seeks 50% US Ownership of TikTok

"My initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose," Trump added, noting such a move would "save TikTok."

Though Chinese officials prefer that TikTok stay under ByteDance's control, they have also discussed internally options including allowing a "trusted non-Chinese party" such as Elon Musk to buy TikTok's U.S. operations, according to several reports last week.