US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will soon decide on the future operations of TikTok in the United States following a landmark Supreme Court decision. The Court upheld a law mandating the platform’s ban unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests ownership to an American firm. Trump addressed the issue on his social media platform, Truth Social.
On Friday, January 17, the US Supreme Court declined to intervene on behalf of TikTok, citing national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership. The ruling underscored fears that the platform’s data collection practices could be exploited to serve the interests of the Chinese government.
In his statement, Trump described the Court’s decision as “expected” and emphasized the importance of respecting the ruling. He added that he needed additional time to evaluate the situation before taking further action.
Speaking to CNN, Trump reiterated his authority in the matter, stating, “It ultimately goes up to me.” When asked whether he might intervene to block the impending ban, Trump said he would make a decision soon. “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,” he added.
The debate over TikTok’s presence in the US is not new. The Supreme Court’s ruling referenced Trump’s initial efforts to ban the platform during his first term as president. At the time, Trump argued that TikTok’s automatic data collection raised significant security risks.
“President Trump determined that TikTok raised particular concerns, noting that the platform ‘automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users’ and is susceptible to being used to further the interests of the Chinese government,” the Court’s decision stated.
The enforcement of the TikTok ban is set to occur on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration. Notably, the Biden administration has opted to defer responsibility for the ban’s implementation to the incoming president.
Despite his earlier efforts to restrict TikTok, Trump’s stance on the platform has evolved. He has since expressed an interest in preserving its operations in the US and has requested the Supreme Court temporarily delay enforcement of the ban to allow time for a potential negotiation of TikTok’s sale to an American company.
The final decision on TikTok’s fate remains pending as Trump weighs his options in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling and ongoing national security concerns.