Biden won't enforce TikTok ban after signing law last year, leaving fate to Trump: official

President Joe Biden will not seek to enforce the ban on the popular social media platform TikTok that is slated to take effect on Jan. 19 due to legislation passed last year, the Associated Press reported, citing a U.S. official.

“Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement,” a White House official noted in a statement, according to ABC News.

Biden signed off last year after Congress passed a massive multi-billion-dollar package stuffed with items such as foreign aid and the TikTok-related measure.

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The Supreme Court issued a ruling on the matter on Friday, opting not to slap down the ban.

“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights,” the high court held.

Trump, the second U.S. president to notch non-consecutive White House wins, is set to be sworn in on Monday, which is also the day of the federal holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, though King’s actual birthday was on Jan. 15.

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“President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save Tik Tok, and there’s no better deal maker than Donald Trump,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Trump has tapped Leavitt to serve as his White House press secretary.

If Tiktok is sold so that it severs ties with Chinese company ByteDance and is no longer viewed as a foreign adversary controlled application, it would no longer be subject to a ban under the law.

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Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who Trump tapped to serve as his national security adviser, said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that the incoming administration “will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” noting that the legislation allows for pushing back the ban if a deal is in the works.

“The Administration, like the rest of the country, has awaited the decision just made by the U.S. Supreme Court on the TikTok matter,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.  Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” Jean-Pierre added.