News
Trump Says He Will Ban TikTok as Soon as Saturday – Experts Say He Can’t
President Donald Trump says he will issue an executive order as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok, the Beijing-based social media and video-sharing platform.
“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told the press pool traveling with him to Florida on Air Force One late Friday night.
Microsoft had expressed interest in purchasing TikTok’s U.S. operations, but the pool report says the president “made clear he was not in favor of a deal to let a U.S. company buy TikTok’s American operations.”
TikTok has been accused of posing a national security threat.
Friday evening Vox’s tech site Recode noted “for established US social media giants Facebook and Google, the decision [to force a sale of TikTok] could significantly weaken their fiercest new competitor.”
Meanwhile, experts say he cannot “ban” TikTok.
Newsweek’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg:
Everyone please stop just stenographically repeating @realDonaldTrump's claim that he's going to "ban TikTok."
He can't just "ban" it.
Stop being so credulous and think for a second.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) August 1, 2020
Top national security attorney Bradley Moss also says Trump cannot ban the company:
No, Trump will not actually be able to “ban” TikTok as a functional matter, even if he can find some legal authority to do it. Get real.
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) August 1, 2020
Noted attorney and political commentator:
The pool report — I don’t know where in Article II or federal law he would find this authority, antiquated as it may seem to ponder such questions. pic.twitter.com/yPJaKHrAlU
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) August 1, 2020
Dave Jorgenson, “The Washington Post’s TikTok guy”:
I do appreciate all of the tweets, they’re hilarious.
But 1) there are so many legal issues and obstacles that will make it very hard for the President to just “ban” tiktok
2) it’s so clearly a distraction
And 3) I care so much more about people dying every day than TikTok
— Washington Post TikTok Guy (@davejorgenson) August 1, 2020
Another tech site, The Verge, in early July published an article detailing “How the Trump administration could ‘ban’ TikTok.”
This is a breaking news and developing story. This story has been updated.
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