Trump says it may very well be price preserving TikTok in U.S. for a short time

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, on December 22, 2024, in Phoenix.
| Picture Credit score: AP

President-elect Donald Trump indicated on Sunday (December 22, 2024) that he favored permitting TikTok to maintain working in america for no less than a short time, saying he had acquired billions of views on the social media platform throughout his presidential marketing campaign.

Trump’s feedback earlier than a crowd of conservative supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, had been one of many strongest alerts but that he opposes a possible exit of TikTok from the U.S. market.

Additionally learn |What occurs subsequent for TikTok after Supreme Court docket agrees to overview potential US ban?

The U.S. Senate handed a regulation in April requiring TikTok’s Chinese language mum or dad firm, ByteDance, to divest the app, citing nationwide safety considerations.

TikTok’s house owners have sought to have the regulation struck down, and the U.S. Supreme Court docket has agreed to listen to the case. But when the courtroom doesn’t rule in ByteDance’s favor and no divestment happens, the app may very well be successfully banned in america on Jan. 19, sooner or later earlier than Trump takes workplace.

It’s unclear how Trump would go about undoing the TikTok divestiture order, which handed overwhelmingly within the Senate.

“I believe we will have to start out considering as a result of, you understand, we did go on TikTok, and we had a fantastic response with billions of views, billions and billions of views,” Trump advised the gang at AmericaFest, an annual gathering organized by conservative group Turning Level.

“They introduced me a chart, and it was a file, and it was so lovely to see, and as I checked out it, I stated, ‘Perhaps we gotta hold this sucker round for a short time’,” he stated.

Trump met with TikTok’s CEO on Monday. Trump stated at a information convention the identical day that he had a “heat spot” for TikTok due to his marketing campaign’s success on the app.

The Justice Division has argued that Chinese language management of TikTok poses a seamless menace to nationwide safety, a place supported by most U.S. lawmakers.

TikTok says the Justice Division has misstated the social media app’s ties to China, arguing that its content material advice engine and consumer knowledge are saved in america on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp, whereas content material moderation choices that have an effect on U.S. customers are made in america.