Biden Will Not Enforce TikTok Ban Before Trump Inauguration

President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on TikTok, which is scheduled to take effect on January 19.

An official in the Biden administration told the Associated Press that the ban won’t be before President Donald Trump is inaugurated on Monday, January 20.

Under the ban, TikTok is due to go dark in the United States on Sunday.

Trump has said he would sign an executive order delaying the ban for 60 or 90 days if a viable offer was on the table to sell to an American buyer or at least one that is an ally of the U.S.

A court denied Trump a stay on the ban.

The Supreme Court also upheld the ban on Friday.

The ban was passed by Congress last year and signed by Biden due to the security risks officials felt the app posed.

If parent company Byte Dance doesn’t divest itself of TikTok by the 19th, the platform will be unavailable to American users.

ByteDance is Chinese state-owned and likely tied to the ruling Communist Party.

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Investigations showed that TikTok shared user data with the parent company on more than one occasion.

Trump’s view of TikTok has changed since his previous administration.

He has since warned that American Big Tech firms such as Facebook and Google, which actively worked against him in the 2020 elections, pose a far greater threat.

TikTok also played a role in increasing the share of younger voters Trump was able to capture this time around.

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“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said last month.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has been granted a special seat on the dais for Trump’s inauguration.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to see the ban’s deadline extended.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to Biden earlier this week about the issue.

On the Senate floor, Schumer said Thursday:

“It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers.”

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) blocked legislation that would have extended the ban’s timeline, which Democrats put forward.

“TikTok is a Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative content, and spreads communist propaganda,” Cotton said.

TikTok contributed over $24 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, the last year data was available.

Every day in the U.S., the TikTok marketplace sells $7 million in products.

The app supports 224,000 jobs in the U.S.

One possibility being floated is that X boss Elon Musk could acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok.

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Musk purchasing TikTok in the U.S. if the company fails to fend off the ban, according to Bloomberg.

Beijing officials strongly prefer that TikTok remains under the ownership of ByteDance, sources reportedly told the outlet.

Senior Chinese officials had already begun to debate contingency plans for TikTok as part of an expansive discussion on how to work with Trump’s administration.

One of those plans involves Musk, said the sources, asking not to be identified revealing confidential discussions.

READ MORE – Biden Falsely Claims ‘Red States Really Screwed Up’ Their Economies

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