President Donald Trump’s executive order Monday to suspend the TikTok ban for 75 days has injected fresh uncertainty into the social media platform’s future, even as potential buyers emerge amid national security concerns.
What Happened: The order temporarily halts the ban that took effect Sunday under a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations. With 170 million U.S. users, the platform briefly went offline over the weekend before service was restored.
“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Trump said Monday, suggesting the U.S. government should broker a deal for 50% control of the platform, which he valued at potentially $500 billion.
Market observers note several companies could benefit from TikTok’s uncertain status. Meta Platforms Inc. META launched a new video creation app ‘Edits’ Sunday, positioning itself to capture advertising revenue if TikTok faces restrictions. According to eMarketer, TikTok generated $12.34 billion in U.S. ad revenue in 2024.
Jeff Bezos-backed Perplexity reportedly made a $50 billion bid to merge with TikTok U.S., while Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk’s X platform is considered another potential acquirer. However, Tesla investor Gary Black warned that Musk’s acquisition of TikTok could negatively impact Tesla’s stock.
Why It Matters: Legal experts question the executive order’s authority. “Executive orders cannot override existing laws,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, according to the Associated Press. The law allows for a 90-day extension if there’s progress toward a sale, but its retroactive application remains unclear.
Beijing signaled possible flexibility on Monday regarding TikTok’s sale. “Business operations and acquisitions should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
The situation remains fluid as technology companies navigate compliance. While TikTok restored service for existing users, Apple Inc. AAPL and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL have not reinstated the app in their stores, citing U.S. legal requirements.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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