Back in the summer of last year, when ex-President Donald Trump declared TikTok to be a threat and banned it, he did it in the name of national security, claiming that the application steals user data for the Chinese government. Though Trump himself used to vehemently criticize this Ap and urged the American side to ban it, now that he is back in the White House the tone has changed since Trump acts to shield the Ap from a new law that obliges ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, to sell the Ap to an American buyer by Sunday or be shut down in the United States.
How Biden and Trump Could Still Save TikTok from a Ban
When Biden has completed his first term of office, critics have demanded that he provides ByteDance with more time to find an acquirer in the United States, for example. If there are only a couple of days remaining in Biden’s term, he can intervene to extend the deadline, which will be good news for the app. The decision would open the door for ByteDance and U.S. companies to negotiate to some extent most likely helping TikTok to stay in America.
Obviously, incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz declared that the White House intends to introduce measures ensuring TikTok’s continued operation in the United States. “We will do what is necessary to ensure that TikTok does not go into the dark,” Waltz told Fox News. These statements suggest that Trump’s staffs are actively trying to protect this app perhaps by proposing different ways of shielding it from national security threats if it was not for the unconvinced attitudes of the security agencies.
One of the last attempts of Tiktok to avoid the ban was a recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court which confirmed the law that forces ByteDance to spin off TikTok. The conflicts are gradually converging around the question of specific legal requirements for speech that apparently does not violate the law, and TikTok has little time left before the problems worsen.
To maintain TikTok’s presence in the U.S. long-term, President-elect Trump could play a crucial role by directing his Justice Department to deprioritize or suspend enforcement of the law. This approach would mirror tactics used by former President Barack Obama, who exercised prosecutorial discretion in 2012 to shield certain undocumented immigrants from deportation.
By leveraging both the 90-day extension and potential discretion by Trump’s administration, there may be a pathway for TikTok to remain operational in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. However, these options depend on legal interpretations and political will, with both Biden and Trump needing to act decisively if TikTok is to avoid being banned.
Biden's Role in Delaying TikTok Ban: A 90-Day Reprieve?
The now-enacted TikTok law allows President Biden to add up to 90 days to the current deadline for ByteDance to sell the app if there is ample proof that progress toward divestment is imminent. Amid this scenario, if ByteDance can prove to offer future legal compliance with binding legal agreements, Biden could pause the deadline and buy time again for the acquisition deal. This provision probably holds the key to a solution which, however, is not clear as to how it may be implemented.
Another criterion which can be problematic here is the “binding legal agreement” These notions could be met by simple “letter of intent” or “term sheet” between ByteDance and any prospective American buyer, suggests Colin Costello who used to serve in Office of the Director of National Intelligence. An extension of the litigations would simply require agreeing on the basic terms of the deal and something as simple as this should suffice to extend the time taken to settle the transaction.
With this in mind, there is no apparent imminent proposals on the table to suggest, and time is slipping away. Even if ByteDance can’t produce sufficient evidence of progress before the final date, Biden may still choose to utilize the authority given to him to provide the extension. Although the implementation of this move would seem to blur the nature of Enron’s business activities, it would probably be done in consultation with legal advisors to meet the letter of the law on rebates.
For TikTok to stay in America for the long-term, President elect Trump could be instrumental through the Justice Department of decoupling or place on a hold on the application of the law. This approach would not be dissimilar to the approach used by former President Barack Obama who through the use of prosecutorial discretion in 2012 granted certain undocumented immigrants immunity from deportation.
Therefore, with help of both 90-day extension and potential discretion applied by Trump’s administration, there can be a chance for TikTok to continue its work in the United States in the long term period. However, these options are based on legal perspectives and political commitment; thus, Biden as well as Trump requires to take decisive action if TikTok to escape from getting banned.
TikTok's Last-Minute Hope: Could Trump or Biden Prevent Its Shutdown?
In TikTok’s case, the extension of the deadline could give Congress time to approve the legislation and give ByteDance 270 days to source an American buyer before the app is shut down. It would leave lawmakers with more time to come up with a solution on how to deal with the Chinese app, but it also reveals that TikTok continues to face pressure to follow the law.
But it raises a new problem for the technology providers who host the TikTok application such as Apple and Google. These companies are thus in a fix if they continue to offer the app after the stipulated time given they face legal consequences for a continued offering of the application. Apple and Google would stand to lose a lot if they decide to go against the law even if the current president decided not to enforce it as mentioned by Colin Costello.
Instead, Trump can get innovative and use the IEEPA to issue an executive order that makes the app stay open for national security concerns. This would make the app indispensable in keeping users from moving to other Chinese own platforms like RedNote. Under such an order, both Apple and Google could keep allowing the usage of TikTok without legal repercussion.
But of course, this strategy would not come without legal and even political headaches. Georgetown Law School professor Anupam Chander points out that the president may have nearly carte blanch of national security powers but if Obama were to bypass or change a law enacted by Congress he would face complex constitutional and process questions. They feared it could lead to e other instances of executive branch overreach in the future.
Even if Trump could do this sort of thing by executive muscle, it surely opens ‘a can of worms’ as Chander defines it. What its political feasibility or legal admissibility would be is still unknown, but it is one of the only possible scenarios for TikTok that does not lead to its shutdown.
