It's not a pardon or a commutation but it could be life-saving for the platform
President Biden is taking a pass on TikTok. Congress has passed a law outlawing the popular platform effective Sunday, Jan. 19. But an unnamed White House official isquoted as saying Biden will delay implementing the measure, leaving it up to Trump, who takes office on Monday.
Trump has said he wants to "save" TikTokand is reportedly considering issuing an executive order that would delay implementation of the ban for 90 days.
The law enacted by Congress and Biden requires TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest the company or be banned from operating in the U.S.
More than 170 million Americans are registered users of the platform and thousands are content creators who produce videos and other short bits that keep millions of fans entertained.
The fear is that the Chinese-owned company is gathering intelligence that could be used by the Chinese goverment to gather damaging intelligence from those who watchthe dancing cat videos and other attractions.
There has been speculation that Trump is forging a path for billionaireElon Musk to acquire TikTok and merge it into his X, formerly Twitter.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump's inauguration and to have a prime seating location for the ceremonies.
We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,incoming White House national security adviserMike 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 heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by TikTok challenging the law.
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Posted: 2025-01-17 05:18:34