US President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will soon decide on the future of the TikTok platform after the US Supreme Court upheld a law mandating TikTok’s ban unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it to an American company. This was shared in his post on Truth Social.
On January 17, the US Supreme Court declined to intervene, affirming the national security risks associated with TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company.
Trump commented that the Supreme Court’s decision was anticipated and must be respected, but he would need time to assess the situation.
In a statement to CNN, Trump remarked, “It ultimately goes up to me.” When asked if he would attempt to block the ban, he said he would soon make a decision. “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,” Trump added.
The idea of banning TikTok was first introduced during Trump’s previous presidency, and the Supreme Court referenced this in its ruling. “President Trump determined that TikTok raised particular concerns, noting that the platform ‘automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users’ and is susceptible to being used to further the interests of the Chinese government,” the court explained.
The Biden administration has stated that it will leave enforcement of the TikTok ban to Trump, with the platform scheduled to be banned on January 19, just one day before Trump’s inauguration.
Trump has since reversed his stance on the platform, now expressing a wish to keep TikTok operational in the US. He has also called on the Supreme Court to temporarily halt the ban’s enforcement, requesting additional time to negotiate a sale of TikTok while serving as president.
