As The Biden administration closes out its single term, its last act will be to leave TikTok’s fate to the incoming Trump administration.
The proposed ban was set to come into effect one day before the Trump inauguration. However, neither President appears to want to be the one to slam the hammer down on the social media platform.
In recent days, Trump has indicated that he’d work to save TikTok from the ban. Republican congressman Mike Waltz said that Trump would step in if the Supreme Court were to ban the app.
Speaking with ABC News, a White House official said that the US would be fine with the app operating on its soil as long as “TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership.”
The TikTok ban has been a hot-button issue in the US, as the government fears it could be a risk to national security. This, officially, is due to TikTok’s data collection, which is similar in scope to US companies like Meta and X. Analysts, commentators and those active on TikTok’s political side suspect it’s due to US companies fearing that TikTok is too successful.
Public response to the ban has been overwhelmingly negative. TikTok has evolved since its popularity blew up worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing multiple ways to make money. Some in the US claim that if the ban were to be enforced, their businesses would simply fail, leaving them without an income.
Bytedance doesn’t intend to sell TikTok despite ban
Speaking on the ban, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday “It’s clear that more time is needed.” He reiterated that it’s imperative to “protect American livelihoods, and protect against Chinese Communist Party surveillance.”
Users have since flocked to alternative apps, including Chinese app Xiaohongshu, or Red Note.
However, despite the looming ban being one of the biggest stories during the Biden administration, he won’t be enacting anything to do with it. Currently, Democrat Senator Markey is pushing for an extension to allow TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, to divest properly.
Bytedance, meanwhile, has zero intention of selling TikTok. Previously, when a ban was floated, business tech giant Oracle was slated to purchase the app. Now it appears there’s no option for anyone.
TikTok has said it’ll shut down in the US if the ban is implemented. Originally, it was thought that the app would simply degrade in quality as updates were prevented from being delivered to the region. The company has said that it’ll simply go on a total blackout, shutting the app down entirely.
With neither President pulling the trigger, TikTok might have avoided another ban entirely.