Yasin Gungor
January 19, 2025•Update: January 19, 2025
ISTANBUL
The White House reaffirmed that Chinese social media app, TikTok, should remain available in the US, but under American ownership to address national security concerns.
"President (Joe) Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday in a statement.
The Supreme Court upheld a law to ban TikTok in the US unless its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, divests from the app. The court ruled Friday that the divest-or-ban ultimatum does not violate the company’s First Amendment rights in the US Constitution.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has shown sympathy for TikTok, will return to the White House on Monday to begin his second term, one day after the deadline for TikTok to divest.
Trump urged the top court to delay the decision for negotiations. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration.
The bipartisan law, passed by Congress and signed by Biden in April, gave ByteDance 270 days to divest or face a ban.
