An official in the Biden administration told the Associated Press on Thursday that President Joe Biden won't enforce a ban on TikTok scheduled to take effect on January 19, one day before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
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, and the Supreme Court 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,
ByteDance Chinese state-owned, and 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, given that TikTok did play a role in increasing the share of younger voters he was able to capture this time around.
“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.
“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,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) blocked legislation that would have extended the ban's timeline, which was put forward by Democrats.
“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, and the app supports 224,000 jobs in the U.S.
