Will the Trump White House save TikTok from a looming ban? The president-elect has done a 180 on the app

Months ago, President-elect Trump vaguely suggested that those who “like TikTok” should vote for him, raising hopes among users of the video-sharing app that he could thwart a soon-to-be-enacted ban.

“We’re not doing anything about TikTok, but the other side wants to shut it down, so if you like TikTok, go out and vote for Trump,” Trump said in a September post at his Truth Social Service.

He did not make any specific promises to reverse the impending ban, but his team says he will “deliver.”

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him the mandate to carry out the promises he made on the campaign trail,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s transition team. declaration.

Working to reverse a ban that was set to take effect in January, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, would be a 180-degree turn from 2020, when Trump tried to block the app in the US or force its sale.

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Then, in April of this year, Biden signed a similar measure that gave TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, until January 19, 2025 – the day before the inauguration – to sell it or face a US ban.

“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Kellyanne Conway, an adviser close to Trump who now advocates for TikTok, told The Washington Post.

“There are many ways to hold China accountable outside of alienating 180 million American users every month. Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of prohibition — gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws and TikTok — and let them own the draconian, anti -personal polling stations.”

Trump’s White House could pressure the Republican-led Congress to change the TikTok ban. Or the Ministry of Justice could pursue a policy of lax enforcement of the law.

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TikTok is currently fighting in court to overturn the law, claiming it is unconstitutional.

The law also allows the president to extend the divestment deadline by 90 days if the administration sees “substantial progress” toward a sale.

The law is enforced by ordering app stores like Apple and Google to stop offering TikTok on their platforms or face a fine.

When it comes to Big Tech, Trump has focused much of his ire on TikTok’s rival, Meta, formerly Facebook. In an interview with CNBC in March, Trump said the owner of Facebook and Instagram poses a far greater threat, labeling Meta an “enemy of the people.”

“Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” he said.

But since then, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has made a number of glowing statements about Trump.

“Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead as a country. We look forward to working with you and your administration,” the tech mogul said after Trump’s victory.

Trump himself has more than 14 million followers on TikTok. “For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump. The other side is shutting it down, but I’m now a big star on TikTok,” he declared in September.

But back on Capitol Hill, TikTok’s national security threat is a big concern for lawmakers from both parties — 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats voted in favor of the bill to force ByteDance to divest. They fear that the Chinese parent company could exploit data on American citizens and manipulate the content that users see to be against American interests, charges that TikTok denies.

But Trump’s Cabinet picks are mainly China hawks who have supported the ban. His designated national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., voted for it. His choice for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said TikTok gives the Chinese government “a unique ability to monitor” American teenagers and that “we must ban this potential spyware before it’s too late.”

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Trump’s nominee for secretary of homeland security, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, was the first governor to ban TikTok on public entities.

Public support for a TikTok ban has increased in the US, with only 32% of Americans supporting one, a Pew Research poll found in September.