Trump to revive TikTok, but wants 50% US ownership

President-elect Donald Trump said he would revive TikTok access in the US by executive order after he is sworn in on Monday, but said he wants the popular social media app to be at least half owned by US investors.

TikTok stopped working for its 170 million American users late on Saturday before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took effect on Sunday. US officials had warned that under Chinese parent company ByteDance, there was a risk of Americans’ data being misused.

Trump said he would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security”.

“I would like the United States to have a 50 per cent ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said the executive order would specify there would be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before his order.

Trump had earlier said he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office, a promise TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US.

Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.

Please stay tuned,” a message notified users of TikTok, which disappeared from Apple and Google app stores late on Saturday.