What to know about TikTok's future under Trump
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A law was passed in April mandating Chinese divestment from TikTok in the U.S. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
President-elect Trump could be TikTok's saving grace years after threatening to ban the app during his first term.
Why it matters: The future of the popular short-form video app looked grim earlier this year because of elected officials' national security concerns about its ties to China. Not so much anymore.
State of play: Under a bipartisan law that passed in April, TikTok would be banned by January in the U.S. unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sold it. The deadline could be extended 100 days if a sale was underway.
- The Justice Department and TikTok have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for a ruling by early December in order to seek a review from the Supreme Court before the law's mid-January deadline to sell.
- Trump as president could urge Congress to repeal the law, which was passed in April, or encourage his future attorney general not to enforce it, the Washington Post reported. The legislation also gives the attorney general the authority to conduct investigations related to violations.
Zoom in: Trump, who's been bullish on China, repeatedly said he opposed banning TikTok during his latest presidential campaign.
- Republicans concerned about Chinese influence, like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), backed the ban.
- TikTok has sued the U.S over the ban, challenging its constitutionality.
Trump "will deliver" on the policy proposals that he campaigned on, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, told Axios when asked about opposing the ban on Tuesday.
- "The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail," she said.
Flashback: Trump issued an executive order in 2020 that would have banned U.S. companies from making transactions with ByteDance. He later approved a deal where TikTok could continue operating in the U.S. because of minority shareholding from Oracle and Walmart.
- The unusual move of targeting a single foreign company focused on Chinese threats to personal information of Americans.
- President Biden revoked and replaced three Trump executive orders in 2021, directing the Department of Commerce to determine which apps may pose an "unacceptable risk" to U.S. national security.
The intrigue: Trump's early appointments for the next administration have already include two China hawks: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) as national security adviser.
What to watch: ByteDance has paid lobbyists this year for pro-TikTok advocacy to lawmakers, the AP reported.
- Separately, Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, who has a significant financial stake in ByteDance, donated tens of millions of dollars to conservative causes in the 2024 election cycle including one focused on rallying Republicans against the TikTok ban. Trump in a March interview with CNBC said Yass didn't didn't mention TikTok when the two had recently met.
- Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway this year advocated for TikTok on Capitol Hill. Earlier this year, she called for Trump to emphasize the app's usefulness to his supporters, Axios' Sophia Cai and Stephen Neukam reported.
Go deeper: Inside Trump's TikTok flip-flop
