The Republican congressional friends of US President Donald Trump are proposing legislation that would compel the popular Chinese-owned app to be sold, but Trump is backtracking on his threat to outlaw TikTok.
Trump on Monday softened his earlier support for a GOP-backed plan that would have given the Chinese owner of the app a few months to sell it or face closure. According to Trump, there are both positive and negative aspects of TikTok, as he said on CNBC.A large number of people adore it on TikTok. Many young children on TikTok will lose their minds without it.
Trump acknowledged that the possibility exists for the Chinese government to compel ByteDance, the app's owner, to turn over user data from Americans, making TikTok a national security issue. However, the likely Republican presidential candidate tried to shift the conversation to Facebook, saying that the social media platform will gain from TikTok's prohibition.
"You can make Facebook bigger without TikTok, and I think Facebook is an enemy of the people," Trump said. During his administration, Trump vehemently backed a plan to compel TikTok to sell.
Now, with broad bipartisan backing, Congressional Republicans are advancing the measure. Additionally, last week, President Joe Biden declared his support for the proposal.
Although there seem to be a lot of MAGA propaganda films on TikTok, it is unclear what would have caused Trump to reverse course. He acknowledges that he recently met with a Republican hedge fund owner who has a sizable position in TikTok at his Mar-a-Lago resort, but he disputes that they spoke about the app.
Due to his resistance, Trump finds himself at odds with prominent members of the Republican leadership in Congress, such as Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who have referred to the proposal as a "critical national security bill."
The FBI has issued a warning that the owner of TikTok may provide China's autocratic government access to user information such as location, browser history, and biometric identifiers. In 2022, Biden forbade almost 4 million government workers from using TikTok on agency-owned smartphones.
However, the fact that Biden's reelection team just joined the app and began publishing material there is evidence of its appeal to young people. The measure, if it becomes law, would essentially prohibit TikTok and other ByteDance applications from being made accessible on American web hosting services, in the Apple or Google app stores, or anywhere else.
Trump on Monday softened his earlier support for a GOP-backed plan that would have given the Chinese owner of the app a few months to sell it or face closure. According to Trump, there are both positive and negative aspects of TikTok, as he said on CNBC.A large number of people adore it on TikTok. Many young children on TikTok will lose their minds without it.
Trump acknowledged that the possibility exists for the Chinese government to compel ByteDance, the app's owner, to turn over user data from Americans, making TikTok a national security issue. However, the likely Republican presidential candidate tried to shift the conversation to Facebook, saying that the social media platform will gain from TikTok's prohibition.
"You can make Facebook bigger without TikTok, and I think Facebook is an enemy of the people," Trump said. During his administration, Trump vehemently backed a plan to compel TikTok to sell.
Now, with broad bipartisan backing, Congressional Republicans are advancing the measure. Additionally, last week, President Joe Biden declared his support for the proposal.
Although there seem to be a lot of MAGA propaganda films on TikTok, it is unclear what would have caused Trump to reverse course. He acknowledges that he recently met with a Republican hedge fund owner who has a sizable position in TikTok at his Mar-a-Lago resort, but he disputes that they spoke about the app.
Due to his resistance, Trump finds himself at odds with prominent members of the Republican leadership in Congress, such as Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who have referred to the proposal as a "critical national security bill."
The FBI has issued a warning that the owner of TikTok may provide China's autocratic government access to user information such as location, browser history, and biometric identifiers. In 2022, Biden forbade almost 4 million government workers from using TikTok on agency-owned smartphones.
However, the fact that Biden's reelection team just joined the app and began publishing material there is evidence of its appeal to young people. The measure, if it becomes law, would essentially prohibit TikTok and other ByteDance applications from being made accessible on American web hosting services, in the Apple or Google app stores, or anywhere else.
