Friday, January 17, 2025 - U.S. President, Joe Biden will not enforce a ban on social media giant TikTok before he leaves the White House.
The ban on the social media app is supposed to start on 19
January, a day before Mr Biden leaves the Oval Office and his Republican
opponent Donald Trump takes over after winning in November's
election.
A law signed by Mr Biden last year saw Congress
requiring ByteDance, TikTok's China-based parent company, to
divest TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban in one of
its biggest markets.
But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
Mr Biden's administration was going to leave the decision to Mr Trump, who will
be sworn in for his second presidential term on Monday.
"Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should
continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes
into effect over a holiday weekend a day before the inauguration, it will be up
to the next administration to implement," a White House official told ABC
News in a statement.
TikTok, used by more than 170 million Americans monthly is
reportedly planning to shut down the app on Sunday.
Trump, who has repeatedly expressed a desire to “save”
TikTok, is reportedly considering executive action that would delay the
implementation of the sell-or-ban law of the ban for up to 90 days.
“We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going
dark,” incoming White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told
Fox News on Thursday, noting that the new law allows for an extension
preventing it from taking effect “as long as a viable deal is on the table.”
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear and
fast-track a case filed by TikTok challenging the law.
During arguments last week, lawyers for the social media
platform argued that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled
Applications Act violates TikTok’s free speech rights under the First
Amendment.
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