WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - In 2020, Donald Trump justified banning the Chinese social media app TikTok by claiming it was essential "to protect our national security."
Now as the Republican president-elect set to start his second term on Monday, he aims to shield TikTok from a law that requires its parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American buyer by Sunday or face a ban in the U.S. President Joe Biden, with only three days left in office, may grant ByteDance more time for the sale.
"We will take steps to ensure TikTok remains active," said Mike Waltz, Trump's incoming national security adviser, in an interview with Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Thursday.
To prevent TikTok from disappearing, Trump or Biden could request an extension, as allowed by the TikTok law, for up to 90 days if certain prerequisites are fulfilled. This could involve demonstrating progress towards a sale through legal agreements, which are not explicitly defined in the law.
Colin Costello, an attorney with Freshfields and a former official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, suggested that a potential buyer and ByteDance could meet this requirement with a simple "term sheet." However, no such agreement is currently in sight.
For a more permanent solution, Costello mentioned that Trump could direct the Justice Department to temporarily overlook the law. This strategy, similar to a tactic employed by President Obama in 2012, would provide time for Congress to deliberate on a new bill giving ByteDance an additional 270 days to find an American buyer before being shut down.
Nonetheless, the law also poses potential repercussions for tech companies like Apple Inc and Alphabet's Google, which could be at risk for continuing to make TikTok available post the deadline.
Anupam Chander, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, speculated that Trump might employ the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify retaining TikTok for national security reasons. This would involve Apple and Google disregarding the law under the assumption of immunity.
Though a Supreme Court intervention could halt the impending ban, time is of the essence as the deadline approaches rapidly, potentially leaving the fate of TikTok in the balance.