Biden Leaves TikTok Ban Decision to Trump, Set for Jan. 19

Jan 17, 2025, 01:54 AM

President Joe Biden will not enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that was set to take effect a day before his departure from office on Monday, according to a U.S. official. The decision leaves the fate of the app in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump. Congress had mandated that TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divest the app by Jan. 19, but the outgoing administration has opted to defer the implementation of the law to the incoming Trump administration. Trump, who previously advocated for banning TikTok, has now pledged to keep it operational in the U.S., though his transition team has not detailed how they plan to achieve this. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump's inauguration, signaling potential efforts by the incoming administration to prevent the app's shutdown.