On Monday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump will be formally sworn in as president of the U.S. However, he’s been actively engaged in global politics, economics, and geostrategic issues for months and is now turning his attention to the justice system. His mediation and promises have resulted in an unusual turn of events regarding the TikTok band. The Chinese company was initially shut down on Sunday to comply with the law. However, TikTok quickly went back online in the country, which the platform attributed to Trump.
This situation raises crucial questions for American politicians, businesspeople, and legal experts: Does Trump have the authority to stop the ban? Can the Republicans prevent TikTok’s shutdown?
A short-lived (and bizarre) shutdown. TikTok is a unique platform for several reasons. First, it boasts 170 million accounts in the U.S., which is impressive for a country with a population of 335 million. Second, Trump has acknowledged TikTok’s political influence in the past.
Moreover, TikTok’s brief shutdown ranks as one of the most unusual in history. On Saturday night, the Chinese social media platform went into “hibernation” to comply with the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
“In the process of restoring service.” However, TikTok’s farewell felt more like “see you later” than a definitive goodbye. Just a few hours later, the platform announced in an X post that it was “in the process of restoring service.” The announcement included expressions of gratitude towards Trump just hours before he officially returns to the White House.
What was Trump’s role in restoring TikTok? It’s evident from TikTok’s own statements that the incoming president has played a key part. Although Trump initially supported banning TikTok in the U.S. in 2020, he’s since shown strong support for the platform. During his presidential campaign, he vowed to do everything possible to “save” it.
He even acknowledged that given TikTok’s immense popularity in his community, there would be no reason for him to support its shutdown: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?” he posted on his social media platform Truth Social, alongside a graphic showcasing his several TikTok accounts.
“I will issue an executive order.” With TikTok preparing to cease operations in the U.S., Trump took further action on Sunday. He published in a Truth Social post: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can reach a deal to protect our national security.”
To reaffirm his stance, he emphasized in an interview with ABC News that upon taking office, he’d “most likely” give TikTok a grace period to determine its future in the U.S.
Reading between the lines. To understand the TikTok situation in the U.S., it’s important to examine the legal background more closely. If the platform suddenly stopped working on Saturday night in a country where it’s achieved massive success, it’s unlikely that this was merely a commercial decision.
The app’s ban stems from a law passed in April, which received broad political support. This law effectively requires that the U.S. version of TikTok be removed from app stores and hosting services unless its owner, China’s ByteDance, divests its U.S. operations and sells them to a different buyer.
Congress made this decision because it’s concerned that TikTok poses a security threat to the country. It fears that the vast amount of data collected by the platform could potentially be accessed by the Chinese government, where ByteDance is based. TikTok has argued that this ban infringes on its users’ freedom of expression. The case was taken to the Supreme Court, which recently upheld the law. As a result, TikTok had until Jan. 19 to transfer ownership to U.S. interests to avoid being banned in the nation.
Where does Trump fit into all of this? The law passed by Congress includes a provision that allows the president to postpone the TikTok ban for several months. In other words, the president has the authority to delay the ban for up to 90 days, which is the grace period Trump mentioned on Sunday. Since the ban would take effect just hours before Trump’s return to the White House, outgoing President Joe Biden’s team indicated that they wouldn’t take action and would allow Trump’s team to handle the matter.
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” Biden’s team said. While the outgoing team’s stance is relevant, it’s not crucial.
In fact, several factors beyond the government are still working against TikTok, such as the law’s content and the deadlines. More importantly, companies that support TikTok’s operations, including those hosting, distributing the app, and providing services, could be subject to penalties amounting to billions of dollars if they don’t obey the law.
A twist… and a big question. You might have heard the rest of the story. Late Saturday, TikTok shared a message informing its U.S. users that they wouldn’t be able to use the app “for now.” Hours later, the company published a second message announcing it was “restoring service” and expressing gratitude to Trump.
This sequence raises a crucial question: Does the incoming president have the authority to suspend the process? Are the conditions for applying the 90-day grace period fulfilled? Moreover, can Trump implement this grace period if the law has already gone into effect?
Trump seems confident that he can. He previously indicated that one of his first actions as president would be to sign an executive order “to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect.” To reassure TikTok’s operators, who are concerned about the app’s future in the country, Trump also said that his order “will confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark.”
Can Trump stop the ban? The big question is whether Trump has the power to grant a grace period to TikTok. There are several reasons to be skeptical. First, while the law allows for a 90-day extension of the ban, this can only happen if a key condition is met: There must be evidence of significant progress toward selling TikTok to a U.S. company.
So far, ByteDance hasn’t shown much support for this kind of deal, and the Chinese company’s actions on Saturday night revealed that this condition hasn’t been satisfied. Another crucial question is whether a potential future sale would include the key asset that makes TikTok so successful among its 170 million users: its algorithm.
“No legal basis.” Some people are also concerned about the legality of extending the ban once it’s been enacted. Even members of the Republican Party have raised questions about whether Trump has the authority to grant this kind of extension.
Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) said in a joint statement, “Now that the law has taken effect, there is no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date. For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China.”
Notably, if Cotton and Ricketts are correct, this could undermine the legal foundation of Trump’s executive order.
Image | NARA| Gage Skidmore
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