Tiktok may not be banned from the US after all. This time, it seems to have received an ally in US President-elect Donald Trump, who has indicated his willingness to allow the platform to continue operating in the US, at least on a temporary basis.
This developement is hardly surprising, given that Tiktok has been a prominent driver in Trump’s successful presidential campaign. Speaking at AmericaFest, a conservative gathering hosted by Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Arizona, Trump revealed that his campaign content has garnered billions of views on the platform, and described it as a key tool for engaging with voters. According to Trump, it broke the previous records for engagement.
During his speech, Trump shared his appreciation for the app. “They brought me a chart, and it was a record, and it was so beautiful to see. I said, ‘Maybe we gotta keep this sucker around for a little while,’” Trump remarked.
Despite Trump’s apparent support for TikTok, the question remains as to how he might address the Senate’s divestiture order should it remain in place.
So far, TikTok has encountered multiple hurdles in the US, and the app was facing a potential ban from the market over national security concerns, amongst other factors. In addition to this, ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, is also facing mounting pressure to divest its operations in the country following a law passed by the US Senate earlier this year.
The national security concerns mentioned controversy surrounding TikTok stems from concerns raised by US lawmakers and the Justice Department about its ties to China, and ByteDance has been accused of potentially allowing the Chinese government access to user data from the US, a claim the company has consistently denied. As mentioned earlier, in April, the Senate passed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok.
Since then, ByteDance has challenged the law, arguing that the app’s data and content moderation processes are managed within the US. TikTok asserts that user data is stored on cloud servers operated by Oracle, and moderation decisions affecting U.S. users are made domestically. These claims will now be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case. It has, however, refused to provide an injunction to halt the ban.
If the court rules against ByteDance and a divestiture does not occur, TikTok could be effectively banned in the US as early as January 19, just one day before Trump is set to take office.
This developement comes a few days after the US President-elect met Shoun Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, which hinted at the app’s continued operation in the US. He later expressed a “warm spot” for TikTok and credited it for providing his campaign with a platform to connect with younger audiences.
