The future of TikTok is in President-elect Donald Trump‘s hands, as President Joe Biden reportedly has no intention of enforcing a ban set to go into effect on Sunday.
A bipartisan bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden last year required ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest of the social media giant on national security grounds or face a ban in the U.S.
But an anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press this week that Biden’s administration intends to leave the final decision to Trump, who will be inaugurated for his second term on Monday.
While Trump previously called for a ban on the app due to its ties to the Chinese government, he has more recently opposed the ban and indicated that he will seek to reverse it.
Why It Matters
TikTok is used by over 170 million Americans, and is particularly popular among the younger generations. Banning TikTok in the U.S. would represent an extensive crackdown on social media in the name of national security.
However, TikTok’s refusal to part with its Chinese owner has led to concerns that it could be used for spying and political disruption.
What To Know
TikTok’s ban is scheduled to come into effect on January 19, the day before Trump will be sworn in as the next president. Because of the proximity to the inauguration, Biden will reportedly not be enforcing the ban and is leaving the decision to his successor.
During his first term as president, Trump tried to ban to app and issued an executive order in August 2020. He warned that the app was leaving information about Americans vulnerable to the Chinese government.
“This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information − potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage,” the order stated.
The order was later blocked by a judge and dropped by Biden when he came to power in 2021.
However, Trump’s position appears to have changed drastically since then, coming out against the ban and saying that he has a “warm spot” for the platform.
“I won youth by 34 points. And there are those who say TikTok has something to do with it,” Trump said at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago after his election victory in November.
He also told CNBC last year: “Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it… There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it. There are a lot of users, a lot of good, and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok.”
Additionally, Trump posted a graphic of his engagement on TikTok earlier this year, revealing that he received 36 billion views on the site in 2024. He added the caption: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”
Will Trump ban TikTok?
The incoming administration has indicated that it will attempt to prevent a ban on TikTok.
Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, told Newsweek: “President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there’s no better deal maker than Donald Trump.”
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz also said on Fox News this week that Trump was looking for ways to “preserve” TikTok regardless of the ruling, saying that Americans’ access to the platform and their data would be preserved.
“I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create the space to put that deal in place,” Waltz said.
It is not clear whether the administration will still require TikTok to divest itself from its Chinese ownership.
What People Are Saying
Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor, said in January: “If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he’s going to protect their data.
“There’s people out there who don’t want the U.S. government seeing all their data and passwords. We certainly don’t want the Chinese government seeing all their data and passwords.”
What Happens Next
Trump will return to office on Monday, January 20. The TikTok ban, which is scheduled to go into effect the day before, will be one of the first things he makes a decision on in his second term.
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