Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both making efforts to navigate around a law that prohibits TikTok starting this Sunday if it continues to be owned by Chinese interests.
Biden’s administration is looking into options to enforce the law without abruptly terminating the widely used video platform, as reported by officials to NBC News. Trump, on the other hand, is also gearing up to step in to maintain the app’s availability, according to his upcoming national security adviser, Mike Walz, in statements to Fox News.
Initially, both Biden and Trump were in favor of instituting the ban, but now both seem hesitant to face backlash from TikTok’s 170 million users in the United States as the deadline approaches. If Biden’s administration is unable to devise a workaround, his final full day in office may be marked not by a resolution in Gaza but by the blackout of TikTok.
“Americans shouldn’t anticipate a sudden TikTok ban on Sunday,” a Biden administration official relayed to NBC.
In April, Congress enacted legislation stating that, due to national security considerations, TikTok must either change its ownership or cease operations in the U.S. The app’s parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing, where local laws compel it to comply with requests for assistance from Chinese intelligence agencies.
The U.S. Supreme Court has reviewed arguments suggesting that the ban infringes on the First Amendment, and a decision on the matter could be forthcoming at any moment. Last month, Trump requested that the court delay the enforcement of part of the ban until he assumes office to negotiate an alternative.
Billionaires based in the U.S. are reportedly eager for an opportunity to purchase TikTok. Moreover, Americans have indicated that if TikTok is unavailable, they will simply turn to the competing Chinese app, Red Note, which is subjected not only to surveillance but also to censorship by the Chinese government.
