Presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed concerns regarding the potential ban of TikTok ahead of an upcoming House vote on legislation requiring the app’s owner, ByteDance, to divest within six months.
Trump, a former Republican president seeking a return to the White House, took to the social media platform Truth Social to voice his reservations, suggesting that banning TikTok could inadvertently boost Facebook’s business—a sentiment he does not support.
The campaign did not immediately comment on Trump’s stance towards the legislation, while Meta, Facebook’s parent company, chose not to provide any statement.
The Energy and Commerce Committee approved the legislation unanimously, aiming to regulate TikTok, which boasts approximately 170 million users in the US.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served under Trump, endorsed the proposed House legislation, citing concerns about Chinese influence on American youth through platforms like TikTok.
If the bill is passed, ByteDance must divest TikTok within 165 days. Failure to comply will result in TikTok and ByteDance-controlled apps being prohibited from major app stores like Apple and Google.
Trump’s previous attempts to ban TikTok and WeChat in 2020 faced legal challenges. Republican Senator Rand Paul questioned the necessity for further restrictions, pointing to earlier efforts to address TikTok security concerns.
Paul highlighted a $1.5 billion initiative undertaken during Trump’s presidency to address security concerns surrounding TikTok, contrasting it with the current push for a ban.
Trump’s concerns about TikTok stem from data collection practices that he believes could jeopardise privacy and national security, as outlined in his August 2020 executive order.
Despite TikTok’s assurances that it doesn’t share US user data with the Chinese government, the company argues that the proposed legislation effectively amounts to a ban, raising doubts about the feasibility of divestment within the specified timeframe.
