WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — TikTok is reaching a critical deadline to sell or be banned in the U.S., and President-elect Donald Trump is vowing to save the popular video app.
Back in September he told voters who, “want to save TikTok in America” to vote for Trump.
During Trump’s first administration he supported a ban, but this year reversed course, arguing it would help competitors like Meta.
In a video posted to Truth Social in September, Trump touted his popularity on the app. He joined TikTok in June and now has more than 14 million followers.
“I’m now a big star on TikTok, we even have a TikTok check,” said Trump.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has until Jan. 19, 2025, to sell the app to an American company or face a ban in the U.S.
The law passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says it passed because TikTok poses a clear national security threat because by law China could retrieve U.S. data on demand.
“It’s not a ban….Let’s have it owned and controlled, not by a Chinese company that is answerable to the Communist Party of China” says Warner.
Warner says if Trump refuses to enforce the law, the president-elect will have “a lot of explaining to do.”
It’s unclear if Republicans will fight Trump if he decides to ignore the deadline.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who voted for the law, says right now her priority is securing the border and tackling mass illegal immigration.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of few lawmakers who opposed the law, says he appreciates Trump’s approach.
“Now that he’s popular on the app I’m glad he realizes the value,” says Khanna.
Khanna says the ban infringes on American’s First Amendment rights.
“There are 170 million Americans on these platforms, you can’t just take away their free speech rights,” says Khanna.
TikTok is currently fighting the looming federal mandate in court. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru Friday, TikTok’s CEO insisted user data is safe.
“These are not just words, we have invested $1.6 billion to secure the data of our U.S. community,” says TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
