The incoming forty-seventh president doesn’t seem to believe he needs to abide by the law when it comes to following through on banning TikTok.
Moments after the Supreme Court upheld Congress’s ban Friday on the popular video-sharing app, Trump claimed he would be making a “decision” regarding its future in the American market, potentially sidestepping two branches of the U.S. government.
“It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,” Trump told CNN’s Pamela Brown. “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision.”
Trump did not provide more details on what exactly that would look like.
On Thursday, U.S. officials revealed that President Joe Biden would not enforce the ban through the end of his presidency, handing the responsibility of interpreting the law to Trump.
Experts have said the app will not disappear from users’ phones, though it will be restricted from the app store, and new updates will no longer be available—eventually rendering the app unusable, reported the Associated Press.
Trump claimed he spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in part discussing the future of TikTok, minutes before the Supreme Court released its opinion.
“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China,” Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning. “The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Trump has pledged to save the platform, though it’s unclear how his team intends to do so. Once inaugurated, Trump could issue a 90-day pause on the ban so long as a sale is in progress, per the terms of the law. But that could be difficult, as Chinese law restricts the sale of TikTok’s proprietary algorithm, according to Bytedance’s attorneys. And Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar—who represented the Biden administration in the case—told the nation’s highest court last week that even the 90-day respite isn’t a guarantee.
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