Trump’s evolution on TikTok: From supporting a ban to being hailed as a savior

NEW YORK (AP) – During his first term as president, Donald Trump led the effort to ban TikTok, the hugely popular video-sharing site that he said posed a threat to US national security. But on the eve of his return to the White House, the president-elect is being hailed as the app’s savior.

After going dark for users over the weekend, Trump said on his social media that he would issue an executive order after he is sworn in for a second term on Monday delaying a TikTok ban “so we can make a deal to protect our national security.” He said the order would make it clear that companies would not be held liable for violating a law aimed at forcing TikTok’s sale of its China-based parent company.Hours later, the app reversed back to relief to its legions of dedicated users.

“Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!” read the message.

Trump’s legal authority to unilaterally decide not to enforce the law, which was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in April and was upheld by the Supreme Court Friday, is unclear. But the rapid developments over the weekend served as a reminder of how dramatically debates about technology, social media and national security have changed since Trump was last in the White House. It also signaled how closely Trump is tracking those shifts after running a successful campaign in which he made inroads with voters in part by leveraging the appeal of some social media platforms.

Trump can now take credit for reviving an app with 170 million users that is especially popular among younger Americans, many of whom spend hours a day on the platform to get news, make money and find entertainment.

“This is one of those things where domestic politics has gotten so upside down and crazy that it turns out there’s only upside for Trump now,” said Bill Bishop, a China expert who has closely followed the back. If the ban ends up being enforced, he said, Trump will say it was on outgoing President Joe Biden’s watch. “And if it comes back, Trump is a savior. And he will be rewarded both by users” as well as by the company, which he said is now “reserved to Trump” and will have an incentive to ensure that content on the platform is favorable to him.

TikTok’s move comes as tech companies and CEOs have been working hard on it improve their standing with Trump. X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has enjoyed unprecedented access to the president-elect after spending more than $200 million and personally campaigning to help him get elected.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and reshaped his social media platforms’ policies to align more closely with Trump’s worldview earlier this month, completes third-party fact-checkingloosen hate speech rules, end his company’s diversity and equity policies, and name Dana White, the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a known figure in Trump’s orbit, to its board.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Amazon, Meta and Google have all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund.

The companies have a lot at stake, including regulatory challenges. Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to facilitate antitrust enforcement and be more receptive to corporate mergers.

TikTok also worked to win Trump’s favor, with CEO Shou Chew meeting with him at Mar-a-Lago in December and later attending Washington over the weekend for Trump’s inauguration. In one video response to the Supreme Court decisionChew was careful to praise Trump, seeing the app’s fate as dependent on him.

“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all of our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” he said. “We are grateful and happy to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform.”

When the app went dark, it had initially sent a simple message informing users of the change, but later updated the language to include Trump.

“Sorry, TikTok is not available right now,” it read. “A law banning TikTok has been passed in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok, when he joins in. Please stay tuned!”

The federal law had ordered TikTok parent ByteDance to sever ties with the platform’s US operations by Sunday. The Biden administration had stressed in recent days that it had no intention of enforcing the ban until Trump took office. But TikTok said it would nonetheless “go dark” because the Biden administration had not provided “necessary clarity and certainty” to service providers — a position outgoing deputy national security adviser Jon Finer cast as disingenuous.

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel quite up to par,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think we were extremely clear that there was no need to take this action,” he said.

Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday that he was considering giving ByteDance a 90-day extension to sell. ByteDance has repeatedly refused to sell, but the company is being watched by investors, including the Trumps former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt.

Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, said there was no evidence that ByteDance had made any meaningful progress toward divestment, “so I don’t see how it would in any way meet those conditions legally. “

“Furthermore, an executive order cannot legally override or nullify a law that Congress passed,” she said. “Laws passed through the legislative process have a higher legal status and an EO that conflicts with the existing law, the law takes precedence and the EO is likely to be struck down by the courts.”

Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warned Sunday that there is no legal basis for the kind of extension Trump is pursuing.

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars in destructive liability under the law, not only from the DOJ, but also under securities laws, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs ‘is.” He wrote on X. “Think about it.”

In his Sunday remarks, Trump proposed new terms for a deal, saying the U.S. would have “a 50% ownership position in a joint venture” that would be “created between the U.S. and the purchase we then choose.” But the details remained sketchy, and it was unclear whether Trump was suggesting control by the US government or another company. Trump did not elaborate during a Sunday night rally where he hailed the move.

“Starting today, TikTok is back,” he said. “We have no choice. We have to save it.”

Although Trump tried to ban TikTok in his first term, he reversed that stance during his 2024 campaign, believing a ban would help the app’s rival, Facebook, which he held partly responsible for his 2020 election loss to Biden. .

Trump ended joined the app last year and has grown its following to nearly 15 million users. He has since credited the app with helping him win over young voters.

“I have a warm place in my heart for TikTok,” he said during a press conference in December. “TikTok had an impact.”

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Ortutay reported from Oakland, California. Associated Press writers Charlotte Kramon and Nadia Lathan contributed to this report.