Donald Trump is floating the idea of keeping TikTok alive, at least for another three months.
In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker on Saturday, Trump called a temporary stay of TikTok’s stateside execution “appropriate.”
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump said. “We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.”
TikTok has said it will abide by a law requiring it to shut down its U.S. operations on Jan. 19.
The social media app issued a statement on Friday, saying that recent statements from the administration of President Joe Biden haven’t provided “the necessary clarity and assurance” for it to avoid going “dark” on Sunday.
“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” they shared in a statement. “Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”
A law requiring the app’s parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok or cease operating in the U.S. passed with bipartisan support last April and was signed into law by Biden. ByteDance challenged the ban at the Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds. President-elect Donald Trump also asked the court to stay the ban on TikTok so that his administration might decide whether to enforce the law. The court ruled unanimously against ByteDance, saying that national security concerns about the Chinese company were valid.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the justices shared. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
After the ruling, Biden’s White House offered a self-contradicting statement. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden agreed with the law that required ByteDance to sell or shutter. However, they foisted the enforcement of the law onto the administration of President-elect Trump. The confusion from TikTok stems from the fact that the law takes effect while Biden is still in office.
“President 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,” Jean-Pierre wrote. “Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”
