U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser said the new administration will keep TikTok in the United States if a workable deal is reached.
"We're going to take steps to prevent TikTok from getting into trouble," U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz told Fox News on Thursday.
He noted that the law gives the app's Chinese owner ByteDance a 90-day extension to complete the divestment. Walz said that "that will be the case as long as a workable agreement is on the table." Essentially, this buys President Trump time to let TikTok continue to develop. "
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday that TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, should be given more time to find a buyer.
"It's clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer without impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans," Schumer said, adding that Senate Democrats were trying to pass a bill that would extend the time it takes to come up with a solution. deadline. "I will work with the Trump administration and both parties to keep TikTok viable while protecting our national security."
More than 170 million Americans use TikTok every month.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump is considering an executive order that would seek to allow TikTok to continue operating until it finds a new owner, although the legal ban has not yet taken effect. It's unclear whether Trump has the authority to do so, given the legal divestiture demands from Congress.
A group of U.S. lawmakers are also pushing to extend the ban for 270 days, warning that the ban could harm Americans who make a living using TikTok.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
"President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there is no better dealmaker than Donald Trump," said Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
Reuters previously reported that TikTok planned to shut down its U.S. operations for the social media app on Sunday, when a federal ban takes effect, barring a last-minute reprieve, according to people familiar with the matter.
A White House official told Reuters on Wednesday that outgoing President Joe Biden does not plan to intervene in his final days in office to block a ban if the U.S. Supreme Court fails to act. The official added that Biden is legally unable to intervene if ByteDance does not come up with a credible plan to divest TikTok.
The law signed in April bans new TikTok downloads from the Apple or Google app stores if ByteDance fails to divest the site.
Users who download TikTok can still theoretically use the app, but the law also prohibits U.S. companies from providing services that distribute, maintain or update the app after the ban begins.
The president can defer the moratorium for a one-time 90-day period if he certifies to Congress that there is evidence that significant progress has been made and a binding legal agreement is in place to allow for complete divestiture within three months.
Separately, a source told Reuters that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration on January 20 and sit with high-profile guests invited by Trump.
Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, criticized the decision to invite Chew on the social media platform X.
"Trump is making a big deal about China and wants to ban TikTok — just as many Republicans voted to do," Pallone said. "But now he's inviting the TikTok CEO to sit next to him at his inauguration, despite TikTok's ties to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and the threat it poses to our national security. What message does that send?"
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to uphold the law and allow TikTok to be banned on Sunday, overturn the law, or suspend it to give the court more time to decide.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees each own 20%. It has more than 7,000 employees in the United States.