Trump Signs Executive Order in Attempt to Delay TikTok Ban
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to delay enforcing a federal ban of TikTok for at least 75 days, even though the law took effect on Sunday and it is unclear that such a move could override it.The order, one of Mr.Trump’s first acts after taking office, instructs the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the law so that his administration has “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.” The order could immediately face legal challenges, including over whether a president has the power to halt enforcement of a federal law.
Companies subject to the law may determine that the order does not provide a shield from legal liability.The federal law banning TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, mandated that the app needed to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or it would be blocked.The law allows a president to grant a 90-day extension if a buyer is found, but only if there is “significant progress” on a deal that can be completed within that period.
It is not clear that the extension is available, given that the law is already in effect.By seeking to override the federal law, Mr.Trump raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power and the rule of law in the United States.
Some lawmakers and legal experts have expressed concerns about the legality of an executive order, particularly in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law on Friday and the national security concerns that prompted legislators to draft it in the first place.Former President Joseph R.Biden Jr.
had signed the law, which passed overwhelmingly in Congress last year, forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban.TikTok had faced security concerns that the Chinese government could use it to spread propaganda or collect U.S.
user data.The law levies financial penalties on app stores and cloud computing providers unless they stop working with the app.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please ena...