Donald Trump has said he will “most likely” will give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban that is due to take effect on Sunday, on the eve of his swearing-in as the 47th U.S. president, BBC reported.
Trump told NBC News an announcement on the matter would probably come on Monday once he takes office.
It comes after the social media platform warned it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban would not be enforced.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law banning the app in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by 19 January. ByteDance has refused to seek a buyer.
TikTok said late on Friday that the White House and the Department of Justice had “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability.”
But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Saturday that TikTok’s warning it was about to go dark was “a stunt.”
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” she said.
The Hill reported: The White House on Saturday called TikTok’s statement warning that it will “go dark” on Sunday unless President Biden steps in a “stunt,” arguing the app doesn’t have to take action before President-elect Trump is sworn in.
“We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday,” outgoing press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre write in a statement Saturday.
“We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration,” she added. “So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.”
TikTok wrote that “the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers” in a statement after the Supreme Court opted on Friday to uphold the law that will ban the app from the U.S. unless it’s Chinese parent company sells it.
9To5Mac reported: In a Friday night bulletin, TikTok issued a statement on what it calls a “possible shutdown” after tomorrow. In short, TikTok does not plan to remain operational in the United States through the weekend despite the Biden White House deferring ban enforcement to the. Trump White House.
Another read is that TikTok wants to show U.S. users what a ban would look like if the Trump White House were to enforce it. The law doesn’t specifically ban TikTok from service in the U.S.; it insists that China must divest from TikTok.
In my opinion, it is unclear what will happen to TikTok after the current administration leaves the White House and the upcoming one takes over.