President-elect Donald Trump is expected to postpone the ban on the Chinese video-sharing site TikTok's services in the United States for 90 days.
In an interview with NBC on the 18th (local time), Trump said, "The possibility of a '90-day extension' of the deadline for the sale of TikTok's operations in the U.S. specified in the TikTok ban law is the highest, because it is appropriate."
He added, "If I decide to do that, I will probably announce it on Monday (the 20th), the day of the inauguration."
This suggests that he may invoke a provision of the TikTok ban law passed by Congress last year, which would extend the deadline by 90 days if there is a "significant progress" related to the sale.
The TikTok ban law, which passed the U.S. Congress in April last year, contains provisions that if TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell TikTok's U.S. operations to American corporations, the app's new downloads will be banned in the U.S. starting from the 19th, the day before President Biden's last term.
The law passed Congress with bipartisan consensus that China could collect sensitive information from Americans through TikTok or exert undue influence on public opinion.
TikTok filed a lawsuit in court, but both lower courts ruled that concerns over national security are justified, so there is no issue with the law. TikTok later filed an urgent request with the Supreme Court to halt the law's implementation, but it was denied.
In this situation, TikTok has announced plans to completely suspend its services in the U.S. starting from the 19th, when the ban law comes into effect.
President-elect Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term, actively used TikTok in his election campaign last November. He changed his stance, stating, "If TikTok is banned, young people will be angry."