President Biden, on the eve of leaving office, is punting the issue of the U.S. government’s enforcement of the law requiring TikTok‘s Chinese parent to sell its stake in the app or face a nationwide ban to President-elect Donald Trump.
TikTok is at risk of being effectively banned in the U.S. under the federal law, which requires Beijing-based ByteDance, parent of TikTok, to enact a “qualified divestiture” by Sunday, Jan. 19 — otherwise, distribution and hosting of TikTok will be illegal. TikTok and ByteDance have appealed to the Supreme Court for an injunction to block the law’s enforcement, citing the First Amendment rights of its 170 million American users. But the tea leaves have signaled that the justices will side with the government’s arguments that the app represents a national security threat.
On Thursday, the White House indicated that it won’t move to enforce the law’s Jan. 19 deadline, which is one day before Trump is to be inaugurated for a second term.
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“Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement,” a Biden administration official told ABC News in a statement.
If the Jan. 19 enforcement date is not halted, by the Supreme Court or through some other means, TikTok plans to shut down the app for U.S. users on Sunday, according to reports.
Trump reportedly is considering issuing an executive order to suspend enforcement of the law for 60-90 days while he tries to hammer out a resolution to keep TikTok available, according to the Washington Post. However, it’s questionable whether Trump has the legal authority to pause the divest-or-ban law.
In an amicus brief filed last month, Trump requested that the Supreme Court suspend the ban from going into effect on Jan. 19 to allow his administration to pursue a “negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government’s national security concerns.” The filing did not provide details on how Trump might achieve that outcome.
At a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in December, when he was asked about TikTok, Trump said, “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok” because of his belief that the app helped drive young voters toward his side of the ballot. On Sept. 4, 2024, Trump posted on Truth Social, “FOR ALL THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!”
During his first term, Trump unsuccessfully sought to force a TikTok sale to U.S.-based parties, also over national security fears.
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