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As TikTok eyes an impending federal ban, Donald Trump’s presidential election victory could be a lifeline.
It’s a dramatic plot story for the beleaguered Chinese-owned social media company. During the last Trump presidency, it was the president-elect who was doing just that start Calls to ban TikTok, which only died down because he did not win his first re-election bid in 2020. But during his 2024 campaign, Trump took a different approach. he Written in capital letters On his platform Truth Social, “For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump!”
President Biden signed a bill in April giving ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, nine months to sell the platform. If ByteDance fails to complete the sale — which is… Possible outcome – It will be banned on January 19, 2025, the day before Trump’s inauguration. However, ByteDance has the option to pursue a 90-day extension, which would put the ball in Trump’s court.
Trump’s reasons for supporting a TikTok ban in 2020 echo current bipartisan sentiment among lawmakers who pushed for the legislation. At that time, Trump Raised concerns About the Chinese Communist Party’s access to Americans’ data (while there has been no public evidence of the Chinese Communist Party accessing the data of American TikTok users, there has been guide That ByteDance accessed TikTok user data). Now, the president-elect seems more concerned with how a TikTok ban will benefit Mark Zuckerberg.
“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook an enemy of the people,” Trump said. He told CNBC In March.
He made similar comments on Truth Social, claim He doesn’t want TikTok’s ban to grow Meta’s business, because he believes Facebook is a “real enemy of the people.”
Another reason Trump changed his view on TikTok may be his relationship with Jeff Yass, the billionaire GOP donor and co-founder of the business firm Susquehanna International Group. Yas and his wife, Janine, have donated more than $96 million to right-leaning political action committees this election cycle — and Yas also happens to own 7% of ByteDance.
Although a Trump victory may also be a victory for TikTok, politicians’ campaign promises don’t always pay off.
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