President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the impending ban that is set to take effect on Sunday, marking the eve of his swearing-in as the 47th President of the United States.
This announcement comes after intense discussions and concerns over the future of the platform in the U.S. and its broader impact on users and content creators.
Why Trump Wants To Delay TikTok Ban
Trump has said he is likely to allow TikTok a 90-day grace period before the ban on the app, which had been slated to go into effect this Sunday, January 19, 2025. He said a formal announcement about this reprieve would probably be made on Monday once he officially assumes office.
The delay occurs after TikTok sounded the alarm over the prospective shutdown, where the app could “go dark” unless outgoing Biden administration could convince that the ban would not come into effect. The future of TikTok in the U.S. had long been a contention point, for national security reasons over the company’s data collecting practices have remained an issue since long.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the law that banned TikTok, which states that the app should be sold by its China-based parent company, ByteDance, by January 19. However, ByteDance has refused to find a buyer for the platform, thus complicating matters further.
Late on Friday, TikTok said that the White House and the Department of Justice had refused to provide any clarity or assurance about the app’s status, especially for service providers who would be critical in keeping the app running. As a response, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off TikTok’s warning, calling it a “stunt” while saying that whatever the law entails will be implemented by the incoming Trump administration.
TikTok In US Politics
While the U.S. government is concerned about national security, with officials believing that Chinese intelligence could use TikTok’s data to track federal employees and contractors, the app is still very popular in the U.S., with 170 million users. TikTok has become an essential platform for engaging younger voters, especially in the political sphere, and has been a significant player in recent American elections.
Despite previously calling for a ban on TikTok, Trump has recently spoken more positively about the app, stating that it had helped his last presidential campaign amass billions of views on his videos. This change in stance may indicate that the influence and reach of the app in U.S. politics played a role in his decision to offer a reprieve.
Millions of content creators in the U.S. are on TikTok for a living. If TikTok were to shut down, several content creators who use the app as a means of earning would be severely affected. A fashion designer and artist who uses TikTok said in an interview with the BBC that brand promotions formed the bulk of her income from the app.
The impending shutdown of TikTok in the U.S. is reminiscent of a similar situation in India, where the government banned dozens of Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, in 2020.
Within weeks, India’s 200 million TikTok users were no longer able to access the platform, and app stores removed it from their offerings. Since the ban, competing platforms, such as Meta’s Instagram Reels and Google’s YouTube Shorts, have filled the void left by TikTok.
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