David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s new national security adviser said on Thursday the new administration would keep TikTok alive in the United States if there was a viable deal.
“We’re going to put measures in place so that TikTok doesn’t stop,” US Representative Mike Waltz told Fox News. He noted that the law authorizes a 90-day extension for the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to complete the sale. That’s the case, Waltz said, “as long as a viable deal is on the table.” He added: “It basically buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going.”
TikTok was not immediately available for comment.
Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there is no better deal maker than Donald Trump.”
Reuters reported that TikTok plans to shut down US operations of its social media app used by 170 million Americans on Sunday, when the federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute delay, according to people familiar with the matter.
A White House official told Reuters on Wednesday that President Joe Biden did not plan to intervene to block the ban in his final days in office unless the US Supreme Court acted. The official added that Biden is legally unable to intervene without a credible plan from ByteDance to divest from TikTok.
A law signed in April mandates a ban on new downloads of TikTok on the Apple (NASDAQ: ) or Google (NASDAQ: ) app stores if ByteDance fails to sell the site.
Users who have downloaded TikTok could theoretically continue to use the app, but the law also prohibits US companies from providing services to enable the distribution, maintenance or updates of the app after the ban begins.
The president can issue a one-time 90-day moratorium on the ban if he certifies to Congress that there is evidence of significant progress and that there are binding legal agreements that allow for full asset forfeiture in three months.
Separately, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the US president’s inauguration on January 20 and sit among the high-ranking guests invited by Trump, a source told Reuters.
Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, criticized the decision to invite Chew on social media platform X.
“Trump talks a big game about China and wanted to ban TikTok — just like many Republicans voted for,” Pallone said. “But now he’s inviting the CEO of TikTok to sit next to him at his inauguration even though TikTok is linked to the CCP and poses a threat to our national security. What kind of message does this send?”
The US Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to uphold the law and allow TikTok’s ban on Sunday, overturn the law, or pause the law to give the court more time to make a decision.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock (NYSE: ) and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each. It has more than 7,000 employees in the United States.
