President Trump wants to revive TikTok but wants 50% US ownership

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will restore access to TikTok in the U.S. by executive order after taking office on Monday, but wants at least half of the popular social media app to be owned by U.S. investors. said.

TikTok suspended service to its 170 million U.S. users late Saturday, before a law shutting it down on national security grounds went into effect Sunday. U.S. officials have warned that there is a risk that American data could be misused under Chinese parent company ByteDance.

“I will extend the period until the law’s ban goes into effect so we can reach a deal that protects our national security,” Trump said in a statement.

“I want the US to have 50% ownership in the joint venture, so we can save TikTok, keep it in good hands and have a voice,” he told Truth Social. I wrote it.

President Trump said his executive order would specify that companies that helped stop TikTok from shutting down before the executive order would not be held liable.

President Trump previously said he would likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from its ban after taking office, and TikTok cited this promise in a notice posted to users on the app. Ta.

“A law has been passed in the United States that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, you cannot use TikTok at this time. We are fortunate that President Trump will work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office.” The message that tells TikTok users, “Please stay tuned,” is no longer displayed. apple and google App store late Saturday.

TikTok’s unprecedented shutdown, even temporarily, has far-reaching implications for U.S.-China relations, U.S. politics, the social media market, and the millions of Americans who rely on the app economically and culturally. will be given.

The United States has never banned any major social media platform. The law, passed overwhelmingly by Congress, gives the incoming Trump administration broad powers to ban or require the sale of other Chinese companies’ apps.

Other ByteDance-owned apps, including video editing app CapCut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in U.S. app stores as of late Saturday.

It’s unclear whether users in the U.S. will still be able to access the app, but the app will no longer work for many users, and those who tried to access it through the web application will see the same message that TikTok is no longer working. It was done.

Under legislation passed last year and unanimously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, the platform has until Sunday to close its relationship with its China-based parent company to address concerns it poses a threat to national security. It would have been necessary to cut it off or suspend operations in the United States.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday accused the United States of using illegitimate state power to suppress TikTok. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesperson said.

Uncertainty about the app’s future led users, mostly young people, to scramble for alternatives such as China-based Red Note. Rivals Meta and Snap saw their shares rise this month ahead of the ban as investors bet on user inflows and ad spending.

“This is my new home,” one user wrote in a Red Note post, adding the words “tik tok refugee” and “sad.”

Minutes after TikTok was shut down in the US, other users took to X (formerly known as Twitter).

“I really didn’t expect them to discontinue TikTok. I’m sad right now and miss the friends I made there. I hope everything comes back in the next few days,” @RavenclawJedi wrote .

NordVPN, the popular virtual private network (VPN) that allows users to access the internet from servers around the world, said it was “experiencing temporary technical issues.”

According to Google Trends, web searches for “VPN” spiked in the minutes after U.S. users lost access to TikTok.

Instagram users were worried about whether they would still receive items they purchased from the TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.

Marketing companies that rely on TikTok are in an emergency situation in a moment that one executive described as “my hair on fire” after months of speculation that a solution to keep the app running was on the horizon. We are rushing to prepare a response plan.

There are signs that TikTok is making a comeback under President Trump, who said he wanted to pursue a “political solution” to the issue and asked the Supreme Court last month to suspend the ban.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend the U.S. presidential inauguration on Sunday and attend a rally with Trump, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in a fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. The Chinese government is also in talks to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, according to media reports, which the company denies.

US search engine startup Perplexity AI made a bid for ByteDance on Saturday. Perplexity to merge with TikTok US Perplexity plans to merge with TikTok US and create a new entity by combining the combined company and other partners, the person added.

Privately held ByteDance is approximately 60% owned by institutional investors. black rock General Atlantic is 20% owned by its founders and employees. More than 7,000 employees in the U.S.