The TikTok statute states that the president may postpone a U.S. ban for up to 90 days, subject to specific requirements.
As Washington authorities and TikTok users await a Supreme Court decision on the issue, both the incoming Trump administration and President Joe Biden’s administration seem to be investigating ways to stop a possible U.S. ban on the video-sharing app that would begin on Sunday.
If the social networking site is still under the hands of its Chinese parent business, ByteDance Ltd., the high court is expected to uphold a national security regulation that would force its closure on Sunday. The Supreme Court may release opinions on Friday starting at 10 a.m. Eastern, according to a notice posted on the court’s website.
According to a Washington Post report citing anonymous sources, Trump, who is scheduled to take office on Monday, has been thinking about methods to salvage TikTok, including unorthodox deal-making and legal strategies including an executive order that would overturn the bipartisan bill. According to the BBC, legal experts have pointed out that a legislation passed by Congress with broad bipartisan support cannot be completely overturned by a president’s decree.
According to an NBC News report citing anonymous sources, President Joe Biden’s administration has also been thinking about ways to maintain TikTok’s availability in the United States. According to the NBC story, granting a reprieve would mean that the suspension of the well-known app would not mark Biden’s final full day in office and would instead push the matter to Trump. It also mentioned that a Biden White House official stated that a TikTok ban is not an option.
According to the statute that targets TikTok, a president may postpone a U.S. ban for up to 90 days, but there are requirements that must be fulfilled for this to happen. In order to execute the deal during the extension, there must be “significant progress” made toward the sale of TikTok and legally binding agreements in place.
According to several published stories, Beijing officials have discussed selling to Elon Musk, the multibillionaire businessman. Additionally, a group led by businessmen Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary has claimed to have approached ByteDance about purchasing TikTok’s assets in the United States. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Walmart Inc. (WMT), and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) have been suggested by Wall Street analysts as possible purchasers, pointing out that some of those businesses have previously expressed interest in the social media platform.
During his first administration, Trump attempted to outlaw TikTok, but last year he changed his mind. In order to “negotiate a resolution” to save the social media company and solve national security concerns, Trump petitioned the Supreme Court last month to halt the law that targets TikTok.
According to several published sources, TikTok CEO Shou Chew intends to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday as one of the president-elect’s guests, which is a new indication of Trump’s support for the site.
Biden’s possible reversal on TikTok would follow his signing of the legislation in April that targeted the app. After the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was approved by the U.S. House and Senate with around 80% of the vote in each chamber, he signed it.
The law, according to TikTok and its backers, amounts to the government stifling free expression. Lawmakers have argued that the app poses a national security risk as its parent business is required to comply with Chinese government directives.
