TikTok: Biden administration won't enforce ban, let Trump decide

Shortly before the expiry of a deadline that could result in a ban on TikTok in the US, the current government has reportedly decided not to enforce the ban. This was reported by the US broadcaster ABC, citing an anonymous person from the White House. Although the belief that TikTok may only be operated in the US if it has been taken over by a US company is still being upheld, “given the timing of a long weekend, it will be up to the next administration to implement the law”, the broadcaster quotes. However, it is still unclear what TikTok itself intends to do and how the IT companies will react, as they will have to implement a ban and otherwise risk severe penalties.

Threat from TikTok itself

Before the outgoing US government's U-turn, it looked as though the popular video app would no longer be available in the US for at least one day on Sunday. The reason for this is a law passed a year ago that stipulates the sale of TikTok. However, the Chinese parent company ByteDance rejected this and took legal action against it. However, this no longer seemed promising. If TikTok remains in the hands of ByteDance after the deadline expires, the app will be removed from US download platforms operated by Apple and Google and lose access to the infrastructure. TikTok itself had recently announced that it would completely block access to the app in the USA on its initiative.

In the law, the US president in office was granted the right to grant ByteDance a grace period for sales. For this to happen, however, the company would have to prove that there is a real path to a sale, there must be demonstrable progress towards this, and it must be underpinned by legally binding agreements, ABC summarizes. None of these three conditions have been met so far. This means that Donald Trump has little room for maneuver when he becomes US President again on Monday. He recently spoke out against the ban, and his team is already exploring how he could prevent a ban after all.

Calls for deadline extension, although ByteDance does not want to sell

Overall, the reports confirm that the wind has recently changed in the USA when it comes to dealing with TikTok. Several influential members of parliament have now spoken out in favor of granting ByteDance more time, reports Reuters. However, it is still unclear whether they will be successful, as the law was obviously drafted in an attempt to prevent this. It is also no coincidence that the deadline expires on the very day before the next US president takes office. At the same time, ByteDance has recently repeatedly countered any impression that a sale is even being considered. However, it is possible that the decision is no longer in the hands of the Group, but with China's leadership.

The reason for the USA's attempt to force a sale of TikTok is fears that the leadership of the People's Republic of China could obtain data on users from the USA via the app. It has also been repeatedly claimed that the app could be misused for propaganda on behalf of China. TikTok and ByteDance have repeatedly denied this. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives had received confidential briefings on the risks associated with TikTok, but the US government did not make the evidence for accusations against the application public.

(mho)