Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Lawmakers were once adamant about the need to ban TikTok to protect national security, but that rationale has faded as President Trump chooses not to enforce the law.
Why it matters: From national security officials to the Supreme Court, there's been overwhelming agreement in Washington for years that the app is dangerous.
- But Trump has ignored the ban, ByteDance still owns TikTok, and lawmakers have done little but release statements stressing that the president should follow the law.
- It all comes at a time when Washington is considering banning even more tech from China, citing national security concerns.
State of play: Trump was the first to try to disentangle the app from China back in 2020. But in his second term, his tune's changed, and he has made clear he wants to save the app because it helped him win reelection.
- Despite the alleged threats of foreign influence campaigns and Beijing's access to sensitive data, Trump has now delayed the TikTok ban by 150 days.
Lawmakers say they're committed to enforcing the law, but Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Ed Whelan notes it's already being broken.
- The law states the president can "grant a 1-time extension of not more than 90 days" if he makes certain progress on reaching a deal.
- "President Trump has no authority to further extend the effective date of the TikTok law," Whelan said in an X post.
GOP Energy and Commerce Committee leaders in a statement on Friday said any TikTok deal "must finally end China's ability to surveil and potentially manipulate the American people through this app."
- "Our Committee will remain vigilant in protecting our national security and standing up for American interests across the board," added Chair Brett Guthrie and Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Richard Hudson.
- In January, Sens. Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, Cory Booker and Rep. Ro Khanna introduced a bill to delay the ban by 270 days.
The bottom line: It's far from certain China will relinquish TikTok's algorithm.
- "Punting this decision won't fix that the Chinese communist party isn't going to let go of TikTok's algorithm," Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich said in a statement.
- "Its ability to influence what Americans see is worth everything to them."
