Stopping the TikTok ban is reportedly a Trump priority

1 week ago 5

One of the biggest apps on the App Store, TikTok, is currently on its way to being banned in the US starting in early 2025. But according to a new report, President-elect Donald Trump intends to stop the ban from happening.

Trump’s shifting outlook on TikTok

Jeff Stein, Drew Harwell, and Jacob Bogage at The Washington Post:

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to halt a potential U.S. ban of TikTok next year, after he promised on the campaign trail to save the popular social media app if he won, according to people familiar with his views on the matter. The video-sharing app faces a January deadline to find a new owner not based in China or lose access to U.S. users, under a law passed in April with bipartisan support.

One such ‘person familiar’ is actually quoted in the article: Kellyanne Conway. She says, “There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million U.S. users each month.”

Trump, for his part, made ‘saving TikTok’ a part of his campaign promises. This position represented a major shift from comments made during his first administration, when his ‘America first’ position led to regular conflicts with China.

What’s next for TikTok?

Currently, under a law passed earlier this year and signed by President Biden, the TikTok ban will go into effect a day before Trump re-enters office.

It is unclear exactly what Trump would do to try preventing the ban. Or whether he would seek to stop it before it’s enacted in January, or simply try to reverse it once he enters office alongside a GOP majority in congress.

In any case, TikTok’s fate in the US continues to be clouded in uncertainty.