Trump postpones Tik Tok ban Was it legal?
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning TikTok for 75 days. But whether this move was legal is up in the air.
The ban — signed by the Biden administration and upheld by the Supreme Court — gave Chinese parent company ByteDance until Sunday to sell its stake in the popular social media platform or face being outlawed in the US.
Lawmakers on both sides have accused TikTok of being used by the Chinese government to spy on US citizens.
But there are few signs that Trump has the power to repeal the law.
“Executive orders cannot override existing laws,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Technology Policy Institute.
The law has a provision that allows for a 90-day extension if there is progress on sales before the effective date. The app went dark in the US on Saturday evening, but was back up the next day and the company said it was working with the Trump administration to find a solution.
Chinese social media app Rednote rose to prominence after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform to protest a ban on the short-form video app in the United States, which was set to take effect on Sunday. Technology expert Jason Snyder says Rednote can ‘track or exploit users’ and the real danger comes with ‘the ability to control narratives’.
The law was in effect when Trump signed the order, so it’s not certain that the provision will be applied retroactively, Kreps said.
“It’s unclear whether the new president has the authority to enact the 90-day extension that was already in place,” she said.
She also doubts the circumstances of the delay exist at this time – without even calling a buyer to ensure a sale goes ahead. Various media reports have speculated on whether Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will buy the platform or Mark Zuckerberg’s meta interest.
It was Trump Earlier, he opposed the presence of Tik Tok He told reporters in the US that he changed his mind after using the app once.
Tik Tok continues to operate as normal in Canada and elsewhere.
First amendment issue
According to Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University, the Supreme Court has ruled that the ban on TikTok is a First Amendment issue and that the law violates the freedom of expression of TikTok or its users.
The court said, “It does not judge the validity of the law. It does not judge the time limit of the law. Simply, did Congress have the power to enact this law?” he told CBC News.
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Finally, he found the law unconstitutional, citing Congressional concerns regarding the app’s data collection.
Chandler, an expert on the regulation of new technologies, said that Trump’s extension of the ban could be challenged in court, adding that “it is not clear who will stand up in the US courts to bring this challenge.”
This, he said, is an example of the “danger” created by executive orders.
“Oh, you’re going to lose a newspaper, and if you can decide your fate in this country, it’s going to make the newspaper at least a little more docile.”
That was part of an argument in the Supreme Court — in a separate, broader case about social media platforms — In July, Florida and Texas have argued that the government should limit how those platforms monitor content posted by their users.
The court opined that platforms – like newspapers – should be protected from government interference in deciding what to include or exclude in the virtual space.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Democrat of New Jersey; proposed that The new president, who was sworn in, said Trump’s action was illegal, saying he was “rolling back a national security bill passed by a bipartisan majority in Congress.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has not commented on the legality of Trump’s action, but said he expects a full sell-off.
But Trump may have other plans, suggesting to reporters on Monday that the government may strike a deal with ByteDance to buy a 50 percent stake in TikTok. Another obstacle is whether Beijing, which has been guarding TikTok in the face of US threats, entertains the idea.
However, the Chinese vice president met with US Vice President JD Vance and Musk on Monday after attending Trump’s inauguration, which was also attended by TikTok CEO Chew Xi.
If the sale goes through, the US-owned version of TikTok could be cut off from the rest of the world, unlike Chinese social media platform Duyin, which only operates in China. For China-only market.
Those optics may not be good for America, Chander says.
Doiin said it only works in China because it’s a “highly censored area.” “And that’s not what we normally do in the United States.”
“Canadians stop talking to the rest of the world and Americans stop talking to ourselves. It’s not a good look for the United States and it’s not good for the rest of the world.”
