US President-elect Donald Trump will find a way to save TikTok before a ban on the app is due to take effect this weekend, his incoming national security adviser has said.
Congressman Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican, said Trump would intervene if the Supreme Court upholds a law that bans the platform in the US unless it is sold by 19 January.
In its last week, the Biden administration is also looking for ways to prevent TikTok suddenly disappearing, reports NBC News.
Chinese owner ByteDance has said it plans to shut off the app for its 170 million US users by Sunday.
“We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” said Waltz on Thursday.
He noted that the law allows a 90-day extension for ByteDance if significant progress has been made towards a sale.
“Essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going,” said Waltz.
A day earlier the incoming national security adviser hinted on Fox News that Trump was planning an executive order in an effort to suspend the ban.
However, it is unclear whether any such measure could circumvent a law passed by Congress.
The app has been banned on national security grounds, because of concerns that its data could be collected by the Chinese Communist Party.
But according to the New York Times, Trump has invited the chief executive of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, to attend his presidential inauguration next Monday, sitting in a position of honour on the dais.
Trump has previously asked the Supreme Court to delay the ban – which would go into effect one day before he is sworn into office – so he can seek a “political” solution.
Congress passed a bipartisan law last year that gave TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, nine months to find a US-approved buyer or face a ban of the platform in the United States.
The legislation does not forbid use of the app, but would require tech giants such as Apple and Google to stop offering it and inhibit updates, which analysts suggest would kill it over time.
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law last April as part of a package that provided aid to Ukraine and Israel.
But NBC News reports that Biden, too, has been considering ways to keep the app available if a ban goes into effect.
Under that plan, they would defer the issue, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC.
TikTok and ByteDance deny being linked to the Chinese government. They have also ruled out a sale.
The Supreme Court heard TikTok and Bytedance’s arguments against the law last week.
A decision is expected any day.
Both Biden and Trump have reversed their stances on the platform.
Trump attempted to ban the app during his first term in office, but said on the campaign trail this year that he would protect it.
By BBC News
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
