The Washington Post quoted a source saying that Mr. Donald Trump could issue an executive order, temporarily delaying the implementation of the law banning TikTok for 60 to 90 days.

This is to give the government more time to negotiate a sale of TikTok or find an alternative. If there are no new developments, the Chinese app will be banned in the US on January 19.

The president-elect has recently expressed a keen interest in “rescuing” a platform that he credits with reaching a large number of young voters. Last month, he said he had “a warm place in my heart for TikTok.”

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TikTok faces an uncertain future in the US. Photo: CNN

Under a law signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2024, ByteDance – TikTok’s parent company – must sell the app by January 19 or face an immediate ban.

TikTok has challenged the ban in court, but the Supreme Court has yet to make a final decision.

Some observers are skeptical about the use of executive orders because the president cannot override a law passed by Congress with bipartisan support.

Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department, said TikTok would still be banned and Apple and Google would still be breaking the law if they continued to do business with it.

Having wanted to ban TikTok during his first term, Mr. Trump has changed his stance on the app, seeing it as a way to curb the influence of tech companies like Meta and reach voters quickly.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who lives in Singapore, visited Trump’s Palm Beach estate last month. Shortly after, the president-elect posted a series of data on Truth Social, proving he was a star on the platform. His TikTok and campaign videos have been viewed nearly 4 billion times.

In addition to an executive order, another option is for Mr. Trump to push for TikTok to be sold to a U.S. buyer. But one of the sources said that this is extremely unlikely given the political risks and the “sky-high” price tag.

CFRA senior vice president of research Angelo Zino estimates TikTok's U.S. business is worth between $40 billion and $50 billion, based on its user base and revenue compared to rival apps.

TikTok has about 115 million monthly mobile users in the US, slightly less than Instagram's 131 million, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. Notably, that price does not include TikTok's recommendation algorithm.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg analysts estimate TikTok’s US value at $30 billion to $35 billion. Finding a buyer with both the financial wherewithal and the ability to withstand privacy scrutiny will be difficult.

ByteDance insists TikTok is not for sale. The uncertainty surrounding the app’s fate has company employees on edge. Executives have shared little about the coming days, except to say they are “planning for different scenarios.”

In an internal memo, the company said offices would remain open “even if this situation is not resolved.”

Shortly after Trump tried to force TikTok to sell itself in 2020, China placed the app’s core recommendation algorithm on an export control list, essentially blocking any sale.

Still, some observers believe the US and China will use TikTok as a bargaining chip on other major issues like tariffs and international trade.

(According to The Washington Post, CNBC)