
Although there have been innumerable discussions about a TikTok ban, the app went totally offline in the US just hours before the Supreme Court-confirmed prohibition was scheduled to go into force. “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now” pop-ups appeared when users tried to open the app after TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese business Bytedance, was taken down from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. The statement clarified that although a law had been passed outlawing the app, the firm was still hopeful that TikTok would soon be allowed to reappear since incoming President Donald Trump had pledged to work with it to bring the app back once he took office.

After around 12 hours after the ban, users saw another pop-up expressing gratitude to Trump for his efforts. But just because the president fulfilled his pledge doesn’t guarantee that the ban will remain in place forever. President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, granting TikTok an additional seventy-five days to sell the app. While his team determines the best course of action, he also instructed the Department of Justice to postpone implementing the statute. The big issue still stands, though: who could become TikTok’s new owner?
Trump wants the United States to own 50% of TikTok

Prominent individuals have shown interest in purchasing the app, including Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, YouTuber MrBeast, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary, and former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Microsoft has as well.A U.S. search engine company called Perplexity AI has proposed to combine with TikTok.

The interesting part comes when Trump signed the executive order, claiming that the ByteDance-owned app could be worth a trillion dollars or that it would be practically worthless if he didn’t approve its continued existence, and that the United States should be entitled to half of its value in exchange for allowing it to operate in the nation.
In response to reporters’ questions on the likelihood of a private-sector TikTok owner, Trump said that “every rich person” had contacted him to express interest in purchasing the app, which makes sense given the potential for enormous financial gains. Additionally, Trump said that TikTok does not present a national security risk because its main user base consists of “young kids,” meaning that the Chinese government would only obtain data about young people.
Trump had previously stated that he wanted to ban TikTok for national security reasons. His response to the question of why he had altered his position was, “I got to use it.”He has previously acknowledged that it helped him connect with younger voters. He added that it’s strange that no one is complaining about other Chinese-made goods like military hardware and phones.