TikTok is preparing to suspend its U.S. operations on Sunday, as a federal ban is set to take effect, unless a last-minute intervention occurs.
The popular social media platform, which is used by approximately 170 million Americans, faces a potential shutdown unless a reprieve is granted by the incoming or outgoing U.S. administration.
Reuters reported that President-elect Donald Trump, whose term begins a day after the ban is set to take effect, is considering issuing an executive order to delay enforcement of the shutdown for 60 to 90 days. However, the report did not specify the legal grounds for such a move.
Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, indicated that Trump may intervene if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a law banning TikTok unless ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, completes a sale by January 19.
The law grants ByteDance until Sunday to divest TikTok to an American buyer or face a ban in the U.S.
With just days left in office, President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to grant ByteDance more time to finalise the sale.
“We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Waltz told Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Thursday.
ByteDance faces the possibility to shut down the app for its U.S. users by Sunday.
Can Biden or Trump prevent TikTok’s shutdown?
The legislation grants the President the authority to extend the divestment deadline by up to 90 days, provided the he certifies that there is a viable path toward a sale, including evidence of progress such as “binding legal agreements.” However, the law does not specify what constitutes such agreements.
As the deadline approaches, both the Trump and Biden administrations are exploring potential solutions to prevent TikTok’s shutdown in the U.S., which would have significant implications for its millions of American users.
“Meeting those requirements could make it feasible for Biden to grant ByteDance a nearly three-month reprieve,” said Colin Costello, an attorney with Freshfields and a former official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Costello explained that the “binding legal agreement” criteria could potentially be met by signing a simple “term sheet” between ByteDance and a prospective buyer, although no such deal currently appears to be in the works.
“However, to halt the ban for a longer period, Costello said, incoming President Trump may need to direct his Justice Department to ‘deprioritise’ or not enforce the law, likely for a specified period of time.”
According to Costello, this approach would mirror former President Barack Obama’s 2012 decision to use “prosecutorial discretion” to grant deportation relief to immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children.
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