After a tumultuous year filled with anxiety and a legal dispute over its future, TikTok could receive a lifeline in the United States from the man who once was its greatest enemy: Donald Trump.
The elected President Trump, who attempted to ban the social media platform the last time he was in the White House, promised on several occasions during his campaign to oppose a ban on the short video platform, which could happen as soon as mid-January if the company loses a legal case currently underway in Washington.
For months, TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, have been embroiled in a legal battle with the United States over a federal law that requires them to sever ties for national security reasons or cease operations in one of their largest markets in the world. The measure, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance nine months to divest its holdings, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress.
"He will comply." During a March interview with CNBC, Trump said he still believed TikTok posed a national security risk but opposed banning it because doing so would help his rival, Facebook, which he has continued to criticize for its loss in the 2020 elections. He also denied having changed his mind on the issue due to Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and investor in ByteDance whom Trump at the time said he had only known "very briefly."
But Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the transition team, indicated in a statement that he plans to carry it out. "The American people re-elected President Trump by a decisive margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made during the campaign," Leavitt said. If that happens, the deadline could be extended to the first 100 days of Trump's presidency.
The companies have claimed that divestment is not possible and the law, if upheld, would force TikTok to shut down on January 19, one day before Trump's second inauguration. It is expected that the losing party will appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority and could choose to take the case, potentially prolonging the process even further.
When asked for comment, Trump’s transition team did not provide details on how Trump plans to fulfill his promise to "save TikTok," as he stated in a post on his social media platform Truth Social in September while encouraging people concerned about the platform to vote for him. Lobbying disclosure reports show that this year, ByteDance paid $150,000 to veteran lobbyist and former Trump campaign aide David Urban to advocate for TikTok among Washington lawmakers.
He said that Yass "never mentioned TikTok" during their meeting. However, ByteDance — and groups connected to Yass — have been trying to exert their influence. The company has also spent more than $8 million on internal lobbyists and another $1.4 million on other lobbying firms, according to Open Secrets. Lawyers for both sides have asked a federal appeals court to review the case to issue a ruling before December 6.
