Four years ago, during his first administration, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump earned the nickname “TikTok Killer.” Now, as he prepares for his second term, he has become the self-proclaimed “TikTok Guardian.” With the popular Chinese video platform facing a potential ban in the United States by January 2025, the question arises: Can TikTok make a comeback under a second Trump administration?
According to reports from foreign media outlets, including the New York Times, President-elect Trump submitted a statement to the U.S. Supreme Court on December 27, requesting a stay on the enforcement of the “TikTok Ban Act” (a law aimed at protecting Americans from apps controlled by hostile countries), which is set to take effect on January 19, 2025. Trump intends to address the TikTok issue once he takes office.
Trump’s attorney, John Sauer, stated that “President Trump has no position on the merits of this dispute,” but he urged the court to consider delaying the TikTok sale deadline until after Trump’s inauguration. Sauer emphasized that “only President Trump has the skilful negotiation expertise and political will to address national security concerns while saving the platform.”
The TikTok controversy began during Trump’s first term when concerns arose over the Chinese government’s potential use of the platform to collect personal data from U.S. users. In 2019, the U.S. Department of defence banned TikTok from being used by military personnel, and in August 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order banning TikTok and WeChat downloads. However, when President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the ban was rescinded but concerns about TikTok’s security and data privacy continued to grow.
In April, the U.S. Congress passed the “TikTok Ban Act,” which mandates that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sell the platform. TikTok filed an injunction, arguing the law infringes on freedom of expression, but both the first and second trials upheld its constitutionality.
Now, TikTok’s last hope lies with President-elect Trump, who expressed a more favourable view of the platform during his presidential campaign. Following his election in November, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, and Trump expressed his support for the platform, noting it played a significant role in helping him gain favour with younger voters.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the injunction TikTok filed on January 10, 2025. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s request will have any impact. However, with Trump scheduled to take office on January 20, the day after the TikTok sale deadline, reversing Congress’s decision through an executive order would be a challenging task.
If TikTok is not sold by the deadline and its use is suspended, other social media platforms offering similar short-form content, such as YouTube and Instagram, stand to benefit. As Tom Grant, vice president of app analytics firm Apptopia, pointed out, “YouTube and Instagram, which each offer short form features on their apps, will be the biggest winners of the TikTok ban.”