Is TikTok a national security threat or not? Apparently not, and service is being restored.
Trump’s Truth Social Post
I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.
Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.
Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.
Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act
Inquiring minds are diving into the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to see what’s Trump’s options allegedly are.
Here are the applicable paragraphs
(3) FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATION.—The term “foreign adversary controlled application” means a website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application that is operated, directly or indirectly (including through a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate), by—
(iii) a subsidiary of or a successor to an entity identified in clause (i) or (ii) that is controlled by a foreign adversary; or
(iv) an entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by an entity identified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or
(i) is controlled by a foreign adversary; and
(ii) that is determined by the President to present a significant threat to the national security of the United States following the issuance of—
(I) a public notice proposing such determination; and
(II) a public report to Congress, submitted not less than 30 days before such determination, describing the specific national security concern involved and containing a classified annex and a description of what assets would need to be divested to execute a qualified divestiture.
Trumpian Irony
The bill seems ambiguous enough to give Trump latitude to say TikTok is not a national threat despite specific wording about TiKTok.
But who is going to challenge Trump executive order anyway?
The Trumpian irony is that it was Trump who first made the case TikToK was a national security threat.
On March 13, 2024, PAFACA was passed by the House of Representatives. The vote was 352 to 65, with 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voting against the bill.
Biden signed PAFACA on April 24, 2024, as part of Public Law 118-50. And it is Biden whom TikTok users will blame.
Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Sell or Shut Down Law
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the ban was constitutional.
On January 17, I noted Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Sell or Shut Down Law, Sunday Deadline
If Musk does by TikTok, I suspect he would eventually merge it into X bringing more eyes into the total mix.
But I am unsure if China is willing or what the price might be (other than very high).
Regardless, the irony remains that it was Trump who set this ban in motion and now appears to not like the result.
The Supreme Court made the correct ruling. The court rules on constitutionality, not the merits of any legislation.
I disagree with the PAFACA premise. TikTok is not a realistic security threat except perhaps to a select few individuals who should not be on the app in the first place.
Meanwhile, despite Trump being the true source of the bill, millions of millennials and Zoomers who use TikTok will conclude Trump did more for them in a day than Biden did in four years.
Service is now being restored to 170 million users and Trump will get credit.