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As TikTok stares down animpending Union forbidding , Donald Trump ’s win in the presidential election could be a lifeline .
It ’s a plot twist for the embattled , Chinese - owned social sensitive fellowship . During Trump ’s last presidential term , the chair - elect had been the one toinitiatethe calls to ostracise TikTok , which only petered out because he did n’t win his first effort at re - election in 2020 . But during his 2024 campaign , Trump contract a different approach . Hewrote in all - capson his platform Truth Social , “ FOR ALL OF THOSE THAT need TO bring through TIK TOK IN AMERICA , VOTE TRUMP ! ”
President Bidensigned offon a banknote in April that give ByteDance , the Taiwanese parent fellowship to TikTok , nine months to deal the platform . If ByteDance miscarry to complete a cut-rate sale — which is alikely outcome — it will be banned on January 19 , 2025 , the sidereal day before Trump ’s inauguration . However , ByteDance has the selection of pursuing a 90 - day extension , which would put the chunk in Trump ’s court .
Trump ’s reasoning for his support of a TikTok ban in 2020 echoes the current bipartizan sentiment among legislators who pushed for this legislation . At the time , Trumpraised concernsabout the Chinese Communist Party potentially pull in access to Americans ’ datum ( while there has not been public evidence of the CCP accessing American TikTok user ’ data , there has beenproofthat ByteDance access TikTok substance abuser data ) . Now , the president - elect appear more concerned with how a TikTok ban would benefit Mark Zuckerberg ’s Meta .
“ Without TikTok , you could make Facebook big , and I consider Facebook to be an foe of the hoi polloi , ” Trumptold CNBCin March .
Another reasonableness for Trump ’s changed perspective on TikTok could be his relationship with Jeff Yass , a billionaire GOP presenter and Centennial State - founder of the trading house Susquehanna International Group . Yass and his married woman , Janine , donate over $ 96 million to mightily - leaning PACs during this election cps — and Yass also happens to own7 % of ByteDance .
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Though Trump ’s profits might also be a triumph for TikTok , pol ’ hunting expedition promises do n’t always come to fruition .
