Trump says he'll issue an executive order Monday delaying U.S. TikTok ban

President-elect Donald Trump clarified his stance on TikTok, writing Sunday on Truth Social that he’d like to bring it back online in the United States as soon as possible, even if there’s no deal yet for a U.S.-based company to buy the app. “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump added.Trump posted a few hours after TikTok went offline for U.S.-based users overnight as a bipartisan law that effectively bans it went into effect. Just hours after Trump's post, it started coming back online for U.S. users. The company said in a statement: "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties for providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive." It added, "We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States." The law, signed last year, gave TikTok’s owner, the Chinese-based company ByteDance, several months to sell to a U.S.-based company or face a ban. Lawmakers said they were concerned about the threats posed to users’ privacy and national security while TikTok remained under the ownership of a Chinese company. The law also allows the president to “grant a one-time extension of not more than 90 days” before it kicks in, which Trump told NBC News on Saturday he would “most likely” seek to do. But the law also says the extension can be granted only “if the President certifies to Congress that ... a path to executing a qualified divestiture has been identified” and if there is “evidence of significant progress toward executing such qualified divestiture has been produced.”