President Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law requiring the sale or ban of the platform.
He says that during this period, the United States will not implement the law passed by Congress last year and signed by former President Joe Biden.
The order was part of a series of directives signed by Trump on Monday evening.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said: “I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about TikTok.”
When asked by a reporter why he had changed his mind since trying to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump replied: “Because I have to use it.”
On Saturday evening, the Chinese application stopped working for American users, after a law came into force banning it for national security reasons.
The app resumed services for its 170 million users in the United States after Trump announced he would issue an executive order to grant a reprieve to the app when he takes office.
TikTok parent company Bytedance previously ignored a law requiring it to sell its U.S. operations to avoid a ban. The law was upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday and took effect on Sunday.
Trump supported banning the platform during his first term in the White House.
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday alongside other big tech bosses, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
