US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will soon make a decision regarding the operations of TikTok in the US.
Recall that the US Supreme Court upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American firm or face a ban.
The court cited a valid national security threat due to TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company.
Trump stated that the Supreme Court’s decision was expected and must be respected, adding that he needs time to evaluate the situation.
In a comment to CNN, Trump said, “It ultimately goes up to me.” When asked whether he would take steps to block the ban, he replied that he would decide on this soon. “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,” Trump emphasized.
The idea of banning TikTok in the US originated during Trump’s first presidency, with the Supreme Court referencing this in their ruling. The court stated that TikTok “automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users” and is susceptible to being used to further the interests of the Chinese government.
President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated that it will leave the enforcement of the TikTok ban in Trump’s hands. The platform is set to be banned on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration. Notably, Trump has made a complete turnaround on the platform, expressing a desire to preserve TikTok’s operations in the US.
