Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the controversial ban on Chinese video app TikTok. This means the app could go dark tomorrow (January 19) unless its parent company ByteDance sells it to an American company. President-elect Donald Trump was asked about this during a recent phone interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. While he said he has yet to make a final decision, he revealed that he is considering a 90-day extension.
“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. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” he explained. “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday." Trump's remarks come after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked Donald Trump in a video statement released yesterday.
Donald Trump Discusses TikTok Ban In New Interview
"On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” Chew said. “This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.” He continued, citing Trump's own experience using TikTok. “We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform — one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process," he added. “More to come.”
While a 90-day extension is specifically allowed for in the law passed in 2024, it's unclear whether or not this could prevent the app from going dark tomorrow, per NBC. Recently, TikTok has said it needs additional “clarity and assurance” from the U.S. government to prevent this.
