TikTok obtains 75 days of reprieve from Donald Trump in the United States

This is one of his first decisions as the 47th President of the United States: Donald Trump signed a decree on Monday, January 20, ordering his government to suspend for 75 days the application of the American law banning the social network TikTok .

This law, passed by Congress in 2024, had technically entered into force the day before. It requires ByteDance (the Chinese parent company of TikTok) to sell the social network to an American company, under penalty of ban on American territory. The text also provides for very heavy fines for companies that allow Americans to have access to TikTok (internet service providers, application stores such as the Apple Store or the Play Store, etc.): up to $5,000. per American TikTok user, of which there are approximately 170 million in the United States.

To avoid any problems and comply with the law, TikTok had preventively deactivated the application in the United States for approximately 14 hours on Sunday. Its access was later restored after Donald Trump promised to “save TikTok” and not apply the sanctions provided for by the law adopted during the Biden presidency.

“We have bigger problems”

While the sanctions provided for by law must in theory be applied by the Department of Justice, the decree signed by Donald Trump on Monday instructs the latter not to intervene for two and a half months. “I order the Attorney General not to take any action implementing [la loi] for a period of 75 days from today, to allow my administration to determine the appropriate course of action to protect national security, while avoiding an abrupt deactivation of a platform used by millions of Americans »details the text. Donald Trump wishes, during this period of time, “consult (one’s) advisors” to assess the security risks posed by TikTok and its Chinese shareholder, and “determine whether the measures already taken by TikTok are sufficient”.

During an impromptu press conference at the White House on Monday, Donald Trump explained his decision by putting into perspective the risks posed by TikTok. “There are so many products that are made in China and the only one they complain about is TikTok”explained the American president in reference to the elected representatives of Congress. “Let’s be honest, we have bigger problems than China collecting information from young children” TikTok users, he also added – among the problems “more serious” mentioned: the construction in China of equipment used by Americans.

“A big weakness for TikTok”

Statements which once again demonstrate to what extent Donald Trump has radically changed his position vis-à-vis TikTok. In 2020, he issued a decree similar in all respects to the law whose application he has just interrupted. Since then, Donald Trump has converted to TikTok, opening an account in June 2024 on the social network, where he is followed by 15 million people. “I have a big weakness for TikTok, because I won the youth vote by 34 points, and some people think TikTok has something to do with that”he explained in December after his victory, as noted by Télérama.

Symbol of this shift in favor of TikTok: Shou Chew, the American director of the social network, was present on Monday at Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Washington, alongside American leaders of new technology companies (Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundai Pichar, or even Elon Musk).

To break the deadlock, Donald Trump once again proposed that the Chinese group ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, grant the United States 50% of the capital of TikTok, in return for non-application of the law. The American government could then allocate this participation to private American interests. “We might need China's agreement, but I'm sure they would give it. TikTok has big value, but if they don't approve [ce plan]he wouldn't have any more »commented on this subject Donald Trump from the White House.

Asked about this during a press briefing, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated on Monday that“When it comes to transactions and acquisitions, companies should decide independently, in accordance with market principles.”