Popular short-form video app TikTok was temporarily banned for US users yesterday following the culmination of its owner’s legal challenge to the Supreme Court.

But over the weekend, Donald Trump, who is due to be sworn in as the new President today, said he would institute an executive order giving the firm an additional 90 days to comply with the court’s ruling.

The ban was signed into law in April 2024, but TikTok owner ByteDance appealed to the Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the court upheld the law. It said that the app could not operate in the US unless it was sold to a US company because of concerns that ByteDance had links with the Chinese government.

Then Trump intervened. “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” he said in a phone interview with NBC News.

After loading up the app on Sunday morning, American users were greeted with a message...