ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) in capital expenditure for this year, much of which will be centred on artificial intelligence, two people briefed on the matter said.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to temporarily halt a law requiring TikTok to sell U.S. assets or be banned in the U.S.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be supportive of the world's richest man and his close aide, Elon Musk, buying TikTok "if he wanted to". Trump was asked if he would be open to the billionaire founder of Tesla buying the short-video platform facing a nationwide ban in the US after the Supreme Court last week upheld a law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance.

Donald Trump told a pre-inaugural, MAGA-heavy rally that “TikTok is back,” as he has pledged to sign an executive order that will give the social media platform more time amid a new U.S. law requiring a divestiture from its Chinese parent ByteDance.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to further delay the TikTok ban in the U.S. In a statement shared hours after he was sworn in on Monday, Jan. 20, Trump announced he was giving TikTok 75 more days before a law banning the social media platform in the U.S. would take effect.

TikTok has confirmed it is "restoring service" after Donald Trump confirmed he will enact an executive order to extend the app's ban deadline.

The president-elect Sunday pledged an executive order, hours into his second term, returning access for American users, at least temporarily.

"There's no legal basis for any kind of 'extension'" to keep the popular social media app running, warned GOP Sens. Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts on Sunday.

TikTok was banned in the U.S. due to national security concerns over its Chinese ownership, prompting federal action requiring ByteDance to divest. Despite delays in enforcement, the app remains unavailable in US app stores until a sale to a U.

ByteDance is exploring a deal to keep TikTok running in the US without selling its operations there, according to board member Bill Ford.

TikTok users in the US are reporting that comments containing the phrase “Free Palestine” are being flagged as hate speech. The controversy comes just days after the platform was temporarily banned and then subsequently reinstated by an executive order from President Donald Trump.