President-elect Donald Trump plans to intervene to prevent a looming ban on TikTok, Congressman Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican and a top adviser to Trump said on Thursday, BBC reported.
The popular app faces a shutdown in the US this weekend unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells the app by Sunday in accordance with a condition imposed under a law passed by Congress.
Waltz confirmed that Trump will act to ensure TikTok remains accessible for its 170 million US users. “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Waltz told reporters.
He highlighted a provision in the law that grants ByteDance a 90-day extension if it demonstrates significant progress toward a sale, which he believes will buy Trump time to secure the app’s future.
Waltz suggested the president-elect is considering an executive order to delay the ban, though it remains unclear whether such a move can bypass Congress. Trump’s team hopes to find a “political solution” to keep TikTok operational while addressing national security concerns.
The app’s critics argue that ByteDance poses a threat because the Chinese Communist Party could exploit user data. However, TikTok and ByteDance have consistently denied any ties to the Chinese government and have ruled out selling the platform. TikTok is not available to users in mainland China.
In addition, there is mounting evidence that other social media platforms are involved in similar data collection schemes.
President Joe Biden, whose administration is in its final days, is also exploring options to prevent TikTok’s abrupt disappearance. NBC News reports that Biden’s team may defer the issue to avoid the app’s shutdown. However, Congress’s bipartisan law mandates that ByteDance divest TikTok by January 19 or face the consequences.
If the ban proceeds, companies like Apple and Google would be required to remove TikTok from app stores, effectively crippling the platform by cutting off updates and new downloads.
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments from TikTok and ByteDance challenging the ban, And a decision is expected soon. Trump’s actions may or may not hinge on the court’s ruling. Trump previously petitioned the court to delay the ban, saying he would resolve the matter politically.