Trump Supports TikTok Despite Threatened Ban

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed support for TikTok, even though the popular app could be banned in the United States if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, does not divest its American assets.

“I’m for TikTok because you need competition. If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram,” Trump told Reuters in an interview published Tuesday. It’s a change from his previous stance, in which he called TikTok a threat even though he joined the platform last month. His criticism of Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, stems from their decision to suspend him for two years following the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In June, he said he would never support a ban on TikTok.

TikTok has declined to comment on Trump’s latest comments. As president, Trump tried to ban TikTok and China’s WeChat in 2020, but courts blocked those moves. In June 2021, President Joe Biden overturned a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban the apps. Trump maintains a significant stake in Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates rival social network Truth Social. Despite having a $7 billion market capitalization, Trump Media reported quarterly revenue of about $770,000, comparable to the profits of two U.S. Starbucks locations.

Read more: Biden’s TikTok dilemma: pursue China or pursue social media antitrust claims

In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hold oral arguments on legal challenges to a new law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban. The hearing will take place in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.

The law, signed by Biden on April 24, requires ByteDance to divest TikTok by Jan. 19 to avoid a ban. The White House has stressed the need to end Chinese ownership of the app for national security reasons, rather than seeking an outright ban. Biden’s campaign joined TikTok in February, emphasizing the platform’s significant influence and reach among American users.

Source: Reuters