Trump expected to try to halt Tik Tok ban: Report

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly expected to attempt to block a potential US ban of TikTok ahead of a final January deadline, according to multiple sources as detailed in a report by the New York Post.

TikTok is fighting in court to block a federal law that would require the applications China based parent ByteDance to divest its stake or face a total shutdown by January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration as the new President of the US. The law permits the president to increase the divestment window by 90 days if “significant progress” toward a particular sale is done.

Trump has earlier vowed on multiple occasions that he would “save TikTok” if he was elected the US president, including in a September 4, post on Truth Social.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

His protection comes despite the fact that Trump spearheaded an effort to ban the application during his first term in office, the New York Post report explained further. Since winning the election, Trump has not given any statement on whether he would try to stop or curtail a ban.

But Conway, a senior adviser during Trump’s first term, who has initially advocated for TikTok in US Congress over the last year, stated in a conversation with the Washington Post that she anticipates Trump to intervene on the social media firm’s part.

“He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win,” Conway told the Jeff Bezos-owned paper, the New York Post report explained further.

“There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million US users each month,” added Conway, who remains close to the president-elect. “Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws and TikTok and to let them own that draconian, anti-personal choice space.”

Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not immediately respond to the New York Post’s request for comment. However, she responded to questions about Trump’s campaign pledge to save the app in a statement to the Associated Press.

“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,” Leavitt said. “He will deliver.”

TikTok declined to comment on the report. Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department, told the Washington Post that Trump could nudge Congress to repeal the law or even tell his pick for attorney general not to enforce it, elaborated the New York Post further.

A federal appeals court is expected to rule on TikTok’s challenge by Dec. 6, though further appeals could reach as far as the Supreme Court. The appeals could stretch well into Trump’s term in office.

As The Post reported, TikTok’s legal team faced sharp questioning in September from the three-judge panel that will decide the case. The divestment law drew broad bipartisan support in Congress from lawmakers who say that TikTok poses a national security threat. TikTok has denied the allegations and argued that the law violates the First Amendment.

In a March interview with CNBC, Trump stated that he views TikTok as a national security risk, but said he was concerned that a ban would benefit Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, which he called “the enemy of the people.”

Market participants and investors will closely follow these developments as decisions like these have the potential to shape the future of US-China relations. Investors will look for clues on the potential of tariffs by the Trump administration.