Trump must follow the law on TikTok

Donald Trump ended his first term in praise of Xi Jinping and China’s overall handling of a global pandemic that up-ended the world, which likely led to his opponent’s election victory over him — and now he appears to re-enter office with same kind of capitulation. It’s not a good look.

Trump has attempted to insert an unconstitutional level of presidential power with an Executive Order on his first night in office by blocking the Department of Justice from enforcing a US ban on the popular Chinese spyware app, TikTok. Trump himself once called for a ban on the app, but told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night that he had never used it before.

I don’t think Donald Trump is a stupid man, nor do I think he is overly complicated — and it wouldn’t shock me to learn that Trump’s turnabout on TikTok is simply because his Gen Z son, Barron, told him not to. Trump himself alluded to the “youth vote,” which he credits with part of his re-election.

But Trump’s Executive Order to delay the expulsion of TikTok is illegal and holds no legal presidential authority. It was a law passed by Congress and upheld at SCOTUS — and the language, and terms of the law, explicitly state the president cannot simply change it by decree. Trump is calling for a ninety-day extension so that “a deal” can be worked with ByteDance, TikTok’s CCP-owned parent company, wherein the United States government would retain 50 percent control and profit over the app.

Does this mean the United States government would then retain all of the data from users’ phones, the way ByteDance and the Chinese government does? Trump can’t really say, because he doesn’t really know. In TikTok, Trump and his advisors see a powerful communication tool which they believe they, too, can control, much the way the CCP does. It would be foolish to believe Trump has not been warned and advised on TikTok’s spying capabilities of US citizens, including government officials and journalists. Trump sees a deal to be made where there is no provision to allow such a deal, unless legislation is rewritten and once again passed through Congress.

But as it stands now, Trump’s Executive Order is powerless and sets up an unnecessary fight with his own party and the Supreme Court in the early part of this second term, where such political capital is precious. Trump has no choice but either to follow the law, as it was passed: the law states that ByteDance and the Chinese government must divest completely from TikTok, either via domestic sale or abdication, or be shut down. ByteDance has had several months to seek out divestment partners, but in the end, citing Chinese officials, chose to have the application shut down. That fact alone should speak volumes about how China values TikTok, not as a simple entertainment app but as a private data collection device and behavioral modification tool.

It’s easy to follow the money on this. TikTok’s CEO was seated at Trump’s inauguration — and TikTok hosted several right-wing influencers close to the MAGA operation, who have suddenly flipped their position on not banning the app. It’s politics all the way down. Trump should understand that one of the reasons he is back in office is because of voters’ perception of Joe Biden’s own cozy personal close family relationship with China. 

Trump has no choice but to follow the law here, even if it will anger his teenage son’s favorite online time-suck.