President-elect Donald Trump has indicated that he is likely to delay the ban on TikTok for 90 days after taking office on Monday. In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump mentioned that he has not yet made a final decision on the matter.
Trump stated that he believes it would be appropriate to grant an extension to the Chinese-owned social media platform, which was banned in a bipartisan law passed last year and recently upheld by the Supreme Court.
Regarding the potential extension, Trump said, '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 further mentioned that if he decides to grant the extension, he will likely announce it on Monday. Without the extension, TikTok is scheduled to go offline on Sunday. The law passed last year allows the president to delay the ban by 90 days, provided there is evidence of significant progress in arranging the sale of TikTok to a US-owned company.
TikTok’s CEO, Show Chew, has been actively engaging with Trump, including a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago residence in the lead-up to the ban. Chew is also expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
