On paper, everything is very clear. Under a law passed last April, TikTok must be sold to a non-Chinese company by January 19, or risk being banned in the United States. Except that Donald Trump, who was once a fierce opponent of the social network, completely changed his mind and promised during his campaign to prevent this ban. But how could he go about it?
What Donald Trump could do
According to information from New York Timesthe Republican, who is not close to a change of heart, changed his approach after meeting Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor who gives a lot of money to his party and who owns a significant share in the capital of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. Officially the two men deny having discussed the situation of the company, but, since last March, Donald Trump has in any case defended the platform.
Preventing the ban on TikTok, however, will not be easy for the future president. The date for implementing the ban will in fact fall the day before he takes office on January 20. According to experts consulted by the American media, a new law from Congress would be required to repeal this text, which seems very difficult, because both parties agree on the subject to ban the Chinese service accused of being a threat to national security.
Therefore, Donald Trump could ask his new attorney general to refrain from applying the law. Except that such a decision could paradoxically put Apple and Google in difficulty. Indeed, if TikTok is banned, these Tech giants are required to prevent the distribution of the application on their respective stores. Therefore, it will be necessary to offer them solid guarantees.
The billionaire can also rely on an element of the text voted in April under which the president can declare that TikTok has acted sufficiently to move away from Chinese control. Likewise, Donald Trump may grant a period of three additional months for a resale by reporting “significant progress” on this issue.
Promise kept?
The future president’s supporters are in any case convinced: he will be able to find a way to respond to concerns about TikTok while maintaining its operation in the United States. In a press release, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Republican transition team, maintains: “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail”. In any case, we will know very quickly if this commitment is kept.
