Can Donald Trump Stop the US TikTok Ban? What We Know

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to stop the potential ban on TikTok when he takes office next year, sources told The Washington Post.
According to a law passed in April, the social media platform must find a new owner not based in China or lose its U.S. users by January 19. Lawmakers cite national security concerns, arguing ByteDance’s links to China could compromise user data and allow the Chinese government undue influence. Trump, however, “appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok,” according to former adviser Kellyanne Conway.
“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Conway said. “There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million U.S. users each month.”
Trump threatened to slap 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese exports, a blow to China’s economy. Tariffs are a core component of Trump’s “America First” economic policy, which aims to protect U.S. industries and promote growth.
The president-elect and China have already gone toe-to-toe in a tense trade war initiated during Trump’s first term. He imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, a move quickly met with retaliatory tariffs from Beijing.
Now, Trump may be waging war with China over TikTok. While the president-elect hasn’t announced anything yet, he effectively said he would help during a video on the app in June.
“I’m going to save TikTok,” Trump said.
TikTok and parent company ByteDance face multiple legislative challenges in the U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the federal legislation that could ban TikTok the day before Trump’s inauguration.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued TikTok in August for allegedly not protecting children’s privacy. In its lawsuit, the DOJ said ByteDance ran afoul of a federal law that requires apps geared toward young people to get parental consent before collecting the personal information of kids under 13.
The DOJ complaint “also says the companies failed to honor requests from parents who wanted their children’s accounts deleted, and chose not to delete accounts even when the firms knew they belonged to kids under 13,” the Associated Press reported.
A TikTok spokesperson previously responded to the DOJ lawsuit in a statement to Newsweek by saying the allegations “relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed.”
In September, TikTok went to federal court to challenge the ban with ByteDance’s lawyer Andrew Pincus putting forward arguments around free speech and First Amendment rights.
In October, 13 states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok, accusing the video app of making its platform addictive to young people and thus harming youth mental health. The lawsuits follow an investigation into TikTok conducted by a group of state attorneys general.