TikTok's masterclass in sycophancy
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
What's the best way to operate a multibillion-dollar technology company in a country where one man holds substantially all political power? One answer can be found with ByteDance, which has been operating under exactly that kind of regime for its entire existence.
Why it matters: ByteDance's American subsidiary, TikTok US, has been transparent in its attempts to give Donald Trump — and not his predecessor — the biggest political win possible.
Where it stands: TikTok went back online as of Sunday afternoon. A message shown to every U.S. app user said, "Thanks to President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back."
- The message was in stark contrast to the statement TikTok put out on Friday, blaming its shutdown on the failure of the Biden administration to provide "a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement."
Between the lines: The Trump administration, just like the Biden administration, provided no such statement before TikTok restarted — in part because the Trump administration didn't exist yet.
- The closest thing to a "definitive statement" from Trump was a Truth Social post promising an executive order on Monday, notwithstanding the fact that he may not be legally able to do what he's said he's going to do.
The big picture: By briefly shutting down and blaming Biden, then starting up again and crediting Trump, TikTok has solidified its Trump-friendly bona fides in a world where the thing Trump values most is highly visible signs of loyalty.
The bottom line: TikTok has now set the bar in terms of what Trump will expect from Big Tech going forward.
