President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday called for the United States to take part-ownership in TikTok and vowed to issue an executive order delaying a looming ban on the wildly popular app to allow time to "make a deal."

Trump's announcement came hours after TikTok went dark in the United States under a law banning it in the name of national security, as a deadline for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers lapsed.

The law however includes a clause allowing for a 90-day delay if the White House can show progress toward a viable deal, but so far ByteDance has flatly refused any sale.

Outgoing President Joe Biden's administration said it would leave the matter to Trump -- who takes office on Monday -- and that it would not enforce any ban.

"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," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

He said he "would like the United States to have a 50% ownership........

© International Business Times