US President-elect Donald Trump, who once ordered a ban on the popular Chinese social media app TikTok in 2020 citing national security concerns, is now looking to protect the app from a looming law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok to an American buyer by this Sunday or face a ban in the U.S.
As Trump prepares for his second term in office, he is reportedly considering issuing an executive order that would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. This move could argue that retaining TikTok is essential for national security, according to Anupam Chander, a professor at Georgetown Law School.
Trump could contend that allowing TikTok to remain operational would prevent users from migrating to the Chinese app RedNote, which is directly managed from China and subject to Communist Party censorship.
The proposed order could also indicate that tech giants like Apple and Google would not face penalties for keeping TikTok available in their app stores beyond the legal deadline.
However, experts warn that such a scenario could lead to significant legal and political challenges. Chander noted, “When a president refuses to enforce a law and assures those subject to it that they won’t be penalized, it raises serious questions about the balance of power.”
While acknowledging the potential for creativity in such a move, Chander emphasized that it could be seen as an affront to Congress and could set a concerning precedent for the exercise of national security authority.
