Biden won't enforce TikTok ban, official says, leaving fate of app to Trump

[TheProle]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a U.S. official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.

Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.

Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the U.S., though his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-trump-executive-order-1e95d9836bf6f8c0c245ed1c3234d968

also:

TikTok CEO to attend Trump inauguration as app's ban looms

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew intends to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration next week and is expected to sit on the dais alongside other prominent guests, a Trump transition source confirmed to Axios Thursday.

Why it matters: News of his invite comes as TikTok's fate hangs in the balance, with the U.S. ban of the popular platform set to take effect on Sunday, barring any eleventh-hour intervention.

Driving the news: The Trump Vance Inaugural Committee issued the invitation to Chew, the Trump transition source said.

He will join other tech industry titans at the inauguration, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, according to the New York Times, which first reported the news.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/16/tiktok-ceo-trump-inauguration-ban

[MichMan]

1. Why doesn't China allow it for it's own residents?

Since its inception, the TikTok platform has been intended for non-Chinese markets and is unavailable in mainland China. It pulled out of Hong Kong in 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory to curtail speech. As data security concerns started to rise in the U.S., TikTok sought to reassure lawmakers that data gathered on U.S. users stays in the country and is inaccessible to ByteDance employees in Beijing.

https://apnews.com/article/china-unitedstates-tiktok-chew-2d851c716d6454d7c87762a056604c7a

[TheProle]

3. Because of the corruptive influence of what the algorithm serves up

[Historic NY]

2. Like Trump can overturn the SCOTUS ruling

[TheProle]

4. No but he can extend it while they work out a deal for an approved buyer

if a viable deal is on the table, essentially keeping it alive during such a transition.

[womanofthehills]

5. 100,000 young American's are on TicToc - do we want the Republicans to be the savior of TicToc?

Now, almost a million kids around the world went over to RedNote (Siaohongshu) - a Chinese apt in China and the American kids are having a blast = it's a love fest between American and Chinese kids and maybe a start to better relations for future generations. Chinese kids are teaching Americans kids their language and all kinds of American kids are speaking limited Mandarin on RedNote,. The American's over there are known as the TicToc Refugees.



Slate.com
Banning TikTok might not curb China’s tech influence—it might just make it trendier.

"There’s no more valuable currency in America than throwing up a middle finger when you can’t get what you want. In the wake of TikTok’s looming ban on Sunday, many have decided to show Congress exactly how little they care about the platform’s ties to China by getting even more Chinese and downloading Xiaohongshu."

"Since Monday, the Chinese social media app, known in English as RedNote, has been the most downloaded free app in Apple’s App Store, as self-proclaimed “TikTok refugees” attempt to find a new place to congregate for content. According to marketing intelligence app Sensor Tower, U.S. mobile downloads of the app increased more than 20 times in the week beginning Jan. 8, compared with the previous week, and are up more than 30 times compared to the same period last year. The spur was entirely organic, ignited by Black creators and young women of color who were interested in the beauty community on the platform."

https://slate.com/technology/2025/01/tiktok-ban-rednote-chinese-social-media-app-good-alternative.ht


CNN Business - The great social media migration: Sudden influx of US users to RedNote connects Chinese and Americans like never [/b]before

'Why is Xiaohongshu everywhere?
Xiaohongshu is surging in popularity worldwide in the same week that TikTok could potentially go offline in the US.

US mobile downloads of Xiaohongshu almost tripled over the past week, compared to the seven days before, San Francisco-based market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNN on Tuesday.

TikTok is seen in the app store of an iPhone on January 8, 2025.
Related article
Here’s what TikTok users are saying about the looming ban

Within the span of two days, more than 700,000 new users have joined Xiaohongshu, Reuters reported, citing a person close to the company. CNN has reached out to Xiaohongshu for comment.

As of Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” had garnered nearly 250 million views and over 5.5 million comments. Many of the American users they had joined as an act of defiance against Washington’s move on TikTok.'

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/tech/rednote-china-popularity-us-tiktok-ban-intl-hnk/index.html





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[LeftInTX]

14. It helped Trump win. He's planning to write an EO to save it.

Trump, who has committed to "save TikTok," is considering an executive order that would suspend the ban from going into effect for 60 to 90 days, the Washington Post and CNN reported.

After the Supreme Court's decision, Trump told CNN: “It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,."

Asked in the same interview whether he would take measures to try and reverse the pending ban, Trump said he’ll “be making the decision.” He added, “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision."

Trump was able to use TikTok effectively during the 2024 presidential campaign in his appeal to young voters. The video app has about 170 million American users.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/17/tiktok-ban-biden-wont-enforce-decision-trump/77773281007/

[Bluetus]

12. It is another opportunity for the classic Trump shakedown.

Look for the Tiktok CEO to send a couple million bucks to Trump's personal bank account. Trump can just ignore the law. Who is going to do anything to him?

[pinkstarburst]

6. This has gotten really dumb

And frankly I am annoyed at Biden for this move.

I am part of a community that relies heavily on TT for small business reasons. There has been a lot of stress about people losing income sources over the past weeks and months.

With that said, I absolutely support the ban for national security reasons.

What I think is sh*tty is the TT community being yanked around. Told it's going away. Oh.. now Biden isn't going to enforce it? So, if you weren't going to enforce it, Joe, you never should have signed the bill in the first place.

And so what, now Trump swoops in and saves TT and becomes the hero for a bunch of young people and small business owners who earn money from this platform? Seriously, does Joe have no advisors that could tell him how this could backfire?

I am all for shutting it down, but I think yanking people around is a crappy thing to do. Shut it down or don't, but quit playing with people.

[Blue_Tires]

8. TikTok is cancer

[Rebl2]

10. The ruling

was so late by the SC, I think Biden just wants to leave it up to trump at this point. I think Trump will ignore the ruling by the SC and allow it. I have never used it or wanted to use it.

[DeepWinter]

7. SCOTUS upholds ban

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219912364

UNO card reverse

[In It to Win It]

9. Make this make sense. Trump railed against TikTok. Biden followed up on it. Now they both want to undo it

[Rebl2]

11. No I

think Biden would enforce it if he was still going to be president. Like I said above, the ruling was so late by the SC, I think Biden wants to leave it up to trump.

[Shrek]

13. President Biden signed it into law

I'm not sure why he would decline to enforce it.