U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks after a gathering with Republicans in Congress on the U.S. Capitol constructing in Washington on Jan. 8, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump informed NBC Information’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in a telephone interview Saturday that he’ll “most certainly” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a possible ban within the U.S. after he takes workplace Monday.
Trump stated he hadn’t made a ultimate determination however was contemplating a 90-day extension of the Sunday deadline for TikTok’s China-based father or mother firm to promote to a non-Chinese language-buyer or face a U.S. ban.
“I believe that might be, actually, an possibility that we have a look at. The 90-day extension is one thing that will probably be most certainly achieved, as a result of it is applicable. You already know, it is applicable. Now we have to have a look at it fastidiously. It is a very huge scenario,” Trump stated within the telephone interview.
“If I resolve to do this, I will in all probability announce it on Monday,” he stated.
A 90-day extension is explicitly allowed for in a bipartisan regulation made final 12 months underneath particular circumstances. However an extension Monday is probably not sufficient to keep away from the app going darkish for not less than a day, as a result of the present deadline for compliance is Sunday.
The destiny of TikTok is without doubt one of the topics that has consumed the ultimate days of the Biden administration, and most of the app’s thousands and thousands of U.S. customers are eagerly awaiting a decision.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it doesn’t plan to implement the regulation, punting that accountability to Trump, however TikTok stated Friday that the White Home’s assurances is probably not sufficient to forestall the app from shutting down. TikTok has stated it plans to “go dark” Sunday except it receives higher “readability and assurance” about potential authorized fallout together with towards third-party service suppliers.
White Home Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre known as TikTok’s plans to go darkish “a stunt” in a press release Saturday morning.
“Now we have seen the newest assertion from TikTok. It’s a stunt, and we see no purpose for TikTok or different firms to take actions within the subsequent few days earlier than the Trump Administration takes workplace on Monday,” she stated.
“Now we have laid out our place clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this regulation will fall to the following administration. So TikTok and different firms ought to take up any issues with them,” she stated.
President Joe Biden signed the regulation final April requiring the app’s Beijing-based father or mother firm, ByteDance, to sell it to a non-Chinese-buyer or face a nationwide prohibition in the US, however in current days his aides have been looking for ways to keep TikTok available when that regulation takes impact Sunday.
Below the law, the president can grant a one-time extension of 90 days if he certifies to Congress that three issues are true: There is a path to divestiture, there’s “important progress” towards executing it and “there are in place the related binding authorized agreements to allow execution of such certified divestiture through the interval of such extension.”
No such binding authorized agreements have been made public. If a last-minute purchaser got here ahead, they would likely need to spend tens of billions of {dollars} for TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Trump didn’t say whether or not he was conscious of any current progress towards a sale.
Trump’s assist for TikTok is a pointy reversal from his stance throughout his first time period, when Trump signed executive orders to ban not solely TikTok but in addition the Chinese language messaging app WeChat. Trump’s try then was blocked by the courts. His reversal got here after he met briefly with one of many app’s billionaire American traders final 12 months.
Lawmakers who’ve supported a sale or ban say some action is necessary due to ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese language authorities, which they are saying should not have management of a significant media property that might be used for propaganda purposes. In addition they cite the app’s assortment of private knowledge from Americans.
TikTok’s followers have protested the potential sale or ban, together with by downloading other Chinese apps such as RedNote regardless of potential security concerns about these apps, too.
On Friday, the Supreme Courtroom upheld the law, rejecting the app’s free speech arguments in an unsigned opinion with no dissents.
Forward of the Supreme Courtroom’s ruling, Trump requested the court docket to hit pause on the regulation, asking for a while for his administration to work to seek out different options to banning the app.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies earlier than the Home Power and Commerce Committee listening to on “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Information Privateness and Shield Kids from On-line Harms,” on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2023, in Washington, DC.
Olivier Douliery | Afp | Getty Pictures
Within the wake of the ruling Friday, Trump wrote on TruthSocial, “The Supreme Courtroom determination was anticipated, and everybody should respect it. My determination on TikTok will probably be made within the not too distant future, however I should have time to assessment the scenario. Keep tuned!”
Up to now, he is signaled his assist for letting the app stay obtainable to customers within the U.S., citing the excessive variety of views his TikTok accounts obtain.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony Monday, together with different tech executives.
On Friday, TikTok’s future remained unsure, as Chew thanked Trump for his efforts to maintain the app working within the U.S.
Even earlier than the Supreme Courtroom’s ruling, Biden administration officers signaled that they might not implement the regulation on Sunday, the final day of Biden’s time period.
“Given the sheer reality of timing, this Administration acknowledges that actions to implement the regulation merely should fall to the following Administration, which takes workplace on Monday,” White Home Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated in a press release after the ruling.
“The statements issued right this moment by each the Biden White Home and the Division of Justice have failed to offer the mandatory readability and assurance to the service suppliers which are integral to sustaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Individuals,” TikTok said in a post on X.
“Except the Biden Administration instantly offers a definitive assertion to fulfill probably the most crucial service suppliers assuring non-enforcement, sadly TikTok will probably be compelled to go darkish on January 19,” the assertion added.
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