President Donald Trump of the United States signed an executive order on Monday to postpone by 75 days the implementation of a ban on the well-known short-video app TikTok, which was supposed to go into effect on January 19.
TakeAway Points:
- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of a ban on popular short-video app TikTok that was slated to be shuttered on Jan. 19.
- U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI made a pitch on Saturday for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S. to become ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok.
- According to the report, the new structure proposed by Perplexity would allow for most of ByteDance’s existing investors to retain their equity stakes and would bring more video to Perplexity.
Trump signs TikTok order delaying ban of app
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order requesting a 75-day postponement of the implementation of the ban on the well-known short video app TikTok, which was supposed to take effect on January 19.
The order directs the attorney general to not enforce the law “to permit my administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok.”
It also directs the Justice Department to issue letters to companies like Apple, Alphabet’s Google, and Oracle that work with TikTok “stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period.”
When asked what a TikTok order does, Trump said, “You just gave me the right to sell it or close it,” adding that he needed to make a decision.
Perplexity AI bids to merge with TikTok US
U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid on Saturday to TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S., according to a source familiar with the company’s plans.
TikTok faces a U.S. ban starting on Sunday if it does not cut ties with ByteDance, although President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he would likely give the short-video social media platform a 90-day reprieve on Monday.
Perplexity would merge with TikTok U.S. and create a new entity by combining the merged company with New Capital Partners, the person said.
The new structure proposed by Perplexity would allow for most of ByteDance’s existing investors to retain their equity stakes and would bring more video to Perplexity, the source said, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Perplexity AI believes its bid may succeed since the proposal is a merger rather than a sale, the person said.
Perplexity AI’s search tools enable users to get fast answers to questions with sources and citations. It is powered by large language models that can sum up and generate information, from OpenAI to Meta Platforms’ open-source model Llama.
TikTok, which has captivated nearly half of all Americans, powered small businesses and shaped online culture, said on Friday it will go dark in the U.S. on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies such as Apple and Google that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect.
