Trump’s Plans for TikTok
Donald Trump has stated he will “likely” provide TikTok with a 90-day reprieve from its US ban once he takes office.
The social media platform officially ceased operations in the country on Saturday (January 18) in advance of the Supreme Court’s deadline on Sunday.
“Sorry, TikTok is unavailable right now. A law has been passed in the US to ban TikTok. Unfortunately, this means that you cannot use TikTok for now,” was the message displayed to users following its closure.
“We are fortunate that President Trump has made it clear that he will work with us on a solution to rebuild TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
🚨 TikTok has officially closed in the US. pic.twitter.com/9q2gsesomm
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 19, 2025
ByteDance and TikTok’s Future
The site’s future was uncertain when its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, lost an appeal against a US law intended to ban it last month. ByteDance has repeatedly stated that it has no desire to sell the app, though this would allow it to continue operating in the US.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday determined that the site would be accessible only to Americans “who are U.S.-owned or otherwise owned that address the national security concerns identified by Congress in crafting this law.”
With Trump being inaugurated on Monday (Jan. 20), the outgoing Biden administration indicated that they would leave the implementation of the court’s decision to the incoming Trump government.
In a recent telephone interview with NBC News, Trump suggested he would seek to grant TikTok a 90-day extension after taking the oath of office.
“The 90-day extension is what will most likely be done because it makes sense. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at this carefully. This is a very serious situation,” he remarked.
In an interview with ABC News, he reiterated, “Well, I have the right; as you know, I will be the one in command. Most likely, I will extend it for 90 days – you have an extension for 90 days, as you probably know. I’ll do this until we figure something out.”
While ByteDance has confirmed that they have no intention of selling the app, various prominent individuals have reached out, expressing their interest in acquiring the platform.
Elon Musk, for instance, became a notable figure in the pursuit. Speculation circulated after the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla acquired Twitter for an astounding $44 billion in 2022 and rebranded it as X. The estimated potential sale to Musk was around $40–50 billion.
However, TikTok quickly dismissed these notions, stating: “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
Following that, YouTube star MrBeast informed his followers that he would pursue the acquisition of the platform to prevent its ban in the US. He later hinted that he and other billionaires were contemplating collaborating on the offer.
The measure to sell or ban TikTok was recently enacted into law by the outgoing Biden last year amid concerns that the company’s ownership structure could enable the Chinese government to access the data of millions of American users.
India prohibited the app nationwide in 2020, while Taiwan and Afghanistan followed suit in 2022.
Over 30 U.S. states, Canada, and the European Union have individually banned the app from being used on government devices due to concerns about potential security risks.
The ramifications of TikTok being banned in the US could significantly affect the music industry. A recent report from the platform revealed that a majority of singles topping the US and UK charts in 2024 were driven by a TikTok trend.
https://www.nme.com/news/music/donald-trump-says-90-day-delay-to-tiktok-ban-is-likely-after-inauguration-3830145?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=donald-trump-says-90-day-delay-to-tiktok-ban-is-likely-after-inauguration
