APP UNAVAILABLE Trump to postpone TikTok ban by ninety days

(Patria) - Donald Trump said he will "most likely" give TikTok a ninety-day reprieve from a ban that was set to take effect on Sunday, ahead of his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, the BBC reported.

Trump told NBC News that an announcement on the matter would likely come on Monday after he takes office. This comes after the social media platform warned it would "go dark" on Sunday unless the Biden administration gave assurances the ban would not be enforced.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law banning the app in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by January 19.

ByteDance has refused to seek a buyer.

"A ninety-day extension is something that will most likely be done, because it's appropriate. You know, it's appropriate. We have to take a good look at it. It's a very big situation," Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News.

He made a similar remark a few hours later to ABC News.

"Well, I have the right as you know, I'm the one that's going to be deciding," he told ABC.

"I will most likely extend for ninety days - you have a ninety-day extension as you probably know. I'll be doing that until we come up with something."

TikTok said late Friday that the White House and the Justice Department "have failed to provide
the necessary clarity and assurances to service providers that are integral to keeping TikTok available".

However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Saturday that TikTok's warning that it would go dark was a "stunt".

"We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before President Trump takes office on Monday," she said.

"We have laid out our position clearly and directly - the actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should address any concerns with them."

Trump said on Friday that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about TikTok, among other issues. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to be among the tech executives at Trump's inauguration on Monday.

US national security officials have warned that Chinese spies could use the app's data to track US federal employees and contractors, which TikTok has denied.

China's embassy in Washington accused the United States on Friday of unfairly targeting TikTok.

"China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests," a spokesperson said.

The platform is extremely popular among its 170 million users in the United States. It has also proven to be a valuable tool for US political campaigns to reach younger voters.

Trump had previously supported a ban on TikTok, but recently praised the app, touting billions of views of his videos during last year's presidential campaign.

Under a law passed last April, the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services in the coming days.

One possible outcome is what happened in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to ban dozens of Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, in 2020 after a deadly clash with Chinese forces along disputed border areas.

Two weeks later, 200 million Indian users of TikTok could no longer log in after local internet providers were ordered to block access to the app.
App stores run by Google and Apple also stopped offering TikTok, which did not legally challenge India's ban.

Since the ban, competing short-form platforms have largely filled the void with Meta-owned Instagram Reels and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.

Meta is seen as the winner of India's TikTok ban.