President Joe Biden’s administration is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the United States if the ban, set to take effect Sunday, moves forward, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
“Americans should not expect a sudden ban on TikTok on Sunday,” a government official said, adding that authorities are “exploring options on how to enforce the law to prevent TikTok from going dark on Sunday.” ” he added.
If the administration goes ahead with such a plan, the outage of the popular app would not define his last full day in office, instead deferring the problem to Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday.
Mike Walz, President Trump’s incoming national security adviser, told Fox News on Wednesday that the president is willing to intervene to maintain access to Chinese-owned video apps in the U.S. market. And his attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, declined to commit to enforcing the ban when asked about it during her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
The moves represent parallel efforts by rival presidents to wage war on Congress and the Supreme Court, which can issue bans at any time.
Still, White House officials insisted that if the ban is upheld, not enforcing it is not an option.
The official said, “We are not considering postponing implementation.” “Legally, we don’t believe we have that authority.”
Biden and Trump’s positions are a reversal of their previous support for banning TikTok.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment on the plan.
TikTok is considering its options, including the final possibility of going dark on Sunday, but it also has the option of keeping the app active without any further updates or bug fixes.
The law in question would have required China-based TikTok owner ByteDance to exit the company within nine months and find an outside buyer to take over. That window closes on Sunday. The law also authorizes the president to grant a one-time 90-day extension if “significant progress” is made toward a sale.
The move came as lawmakers believed U.S. users’ data could be at risk of being leaked by China or that China could affect Americans by regulating content on TikTok. It was enacted in the name of security. Although TikTok has long maintained that these concerns are moot, some users have challenged the law on First Amendment grounds and filed lawsuits to block it.
Absent a sale, TikTok’s moratorium means national security concerns remain unresolved, at least for now.
Just days before the potential ban, a large number of U.S. TikTok users downloaded a Chinese alternative that poses similar security issues.
President Trump vowed to “save TikTok” during his campaign last year, after unsuccessfully trying to enforce the ban during his first term. Biden signed the ban in April as part of a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel. But now his White House is trying to fix that problem.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a longtime Biden ally, is one of a handful of lawmakers who have petitioned the White House and Supreme Court to halt the ban.
“We hope that President Biden will listen to the millions of voices who don’t want to turn off the lights on this app,” Khanna said. “He has the authority to extend the timeline to seek a solution to prevent the app from being shut down.”
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts also said he had expressed his concerns to White House officials and asked them to delay the ban.
Although there was a response saying they would consider it, there was no clear answer as to what would happen.
Late last month, President Trump filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to delay implementation of that part of the law so the next president could “pursue a negotiated solution” to prevent TikTok from shutting down. Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, said in a prepared statement that Trump “has a strong electoral mandate to protect the free speech rights of all Americans, including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.” “We’re receiving it from American voters.”
A few days later, President Trump asked on his Truth Social platform, “Why do you want to abolish TikTok?”
He attached a diagram illustrating the wide reach of the short-form video app, which reportedly has 170 million users in the United States.
Supreme Court justices last week appeared unconvinced by TikTok’s free speech claims, but may decide to temporarily block the law while ruling against the company.
In his argument, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed to Congress’ finding that TikTok’s parent company is subject to Chinese law that requires it to cooperate in gathering information.
“So should we ignore the fact that the Ultimate Parent is actually doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” he asked.
“Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” Roberts said, citing free speech concerns.
Lawmakers “are not saying we should stop TikTok,” he added. “They say China should stop controlling TikTok.”
TikTok’s Asian headquarters are in Singapore, while its parent company ByteDance is in Beijing.
Some Republicans who voted for the bill said they expected Trump to step in and negotiate sales to U.S. interests once he becomes president.
“They have to sell according to the law, so Mr. Trump could play an effective role in finding a buyer. … He sees himself as a top negotiator.” said Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), a China hawk who served as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee when Congress passed the bill last year. “Otherwise, the business will close unless he can find a way to sell it.
“Many of these influencers rely on TikTok,” he continued. “They don’t want to switch, but ByteDance is managed out of Beijing. It’s not a threat to Congress, it’s a threat to our children.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said if TikTok wants to continue operating in the U.S., there’s only one path forward: a sale.
“Congress has already passed the bill,” he said. “What I would like to see is the owners of TikTok come forward and say, ‘We will never share Americans’ data with the Chinese Communist Party. And here’s how that will be done.’ It’s a sale.”
