In a recent turn of events, President-elect Donald Trump has indicated a possible reassessment of the impending prohibition of TikTok Inc., a stance that contrasts with his previous position during his presidency in 2020. Speaking on Monday at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump expressed a change of heart towards the Chinese-owned video-sharing application, citing its influence on young voters and attributing Republican gains to the platform’s impact. “We’ll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump remarked.
During his earlier tenure, Trump had raised concerns about the national security risks posed by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, due to its Chinese origins. In response, he signed an executive order demanding the sale of TikTok or facing a ban in the United States. However, legal challenges delayed the ban, which was eventually overturned by President Joe Biden. Nonetheless, a bipartisan bill was signed by Biden last year, setting a deadline of January 19, 2025, for ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban.
The White House has expressed a preference for divestiture over an outright ban, aiming to prevent potential exploitation of American user data by China. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “What we want to see is a divestment, not a ban. We’ve been very clear about that.” She did not comment on whether Biden would enforce the divestiture before his term ends.
Amid ongoing legal proceedings, a federal appeals court upheld the divestiture law, while ByteDance is seeking a temporary stay to appeal to the Supreme Court. This situation could place the final decision in Trump’s hands should he assume office. Although the law limits the president’s ability to waive the divestiture requirement, it does offer some leeway in defining the terms of a divestiture. This could allow Trump to determine that TikTok’s U.S. operations are sufficiently independent to protect user data privacy.
Trump’s perspective on TikTok shifted last year, viewing it as a viable alternative to competing services from Meta Inc., such as Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and Instagram reels. After being banned from Facebook for his role in the events leading up to the Capitol attack, Trump labeled Facebook “the enemy of the people.” He has since embraced TikTok, utilizing it in his presidential campaign to disseminate viral content. On the eve of the court’s decision last week, Trump highlighted the platform’s effectiveness by sharing engagement statistics that favored TikTok over Instagram’s video feature.
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