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Trump says he will ‘likely’ give TikTok, the popular Chinese media company, a 90 day extension to avoid a ban, which is supposed to kick in tomorrow 1/19, one day before inauguration.
There are a lot of satisfied TikTok users — 170 million Americans by one estimate — who don’t want the company to go away. A good portion of those users are Trump followers.
I saw a man on the street today holding up a sign saying ‘Tik Tok has done nothing wrong’.
Just how do you know?
Biden initiated the action to ban the media company on grounds that it is vulnerable to Chinese government interference with the intent to sway American users for their own purposes. Biden gave TikTok the option of selling to an American company to keep going.
The company’s defense was that the ban interfered with their freedom of speech.
Interesting stance, since there is no freedom of speech in China.
The Supreme Court ruled against it.
Biden has a point because China’s government has an ugly record of hacking American companies.
Trump’s impulse is to please his base. But to overlook the security implications is a bad idea.
This is not the first tussle with national governments for TikTok.
In June 2020, India banned the app because the company was not complying with government regulations. The ban remains in place. Pakistan has done the same.
This issue is a first test for Trump.
His impulse is to please his supporters but the national interest is at risk.
With the history…
