The ban seemed to be almost a sure thing, but once radio silence set in with the Trump administration, the deadline was extended.
It was supposed to be banned long ago. Yet, here we are, still with access to the platform. After granting an injunction against the TikTok ban, a judge heard the case between TikTok and the Trump administration. After that, it became clear that the Trump administration is going to make a ruling on whether or not they approve of the TikTok Oracle Walmart deal. So, the judge seemingly found itself set on not extending the injunction.
That’s when the US elections hit. After losing the election, outgoing impeached US president, Donald Trump, seemingly turned his focus onto mass litigation in an effort to overturn the results. In the process, it seems as though he completely forgot about the TikTok ban story. This is because the deadline came and went without a response from the administration.
That left this story in limbo. ByteDance did as requested and submitted their deal to the Trump administration. With the deadline long blown by with no response, what happens next? Well, the situation seemingly compelled the administration to give an extension. From CNN:
After seemingly blowing past the Trump administration’s deadline for TikTok to find a new owner, the US government has quietly given the embattled social media platform a reprieve.
TikTok will now have another 15 days, until Nov. 27, to persuade US national security officials that its proposed deal with Oracle (ORCL) and Walmart should be approved, according to a court filing.
Thursday was supposed to be the drop-dead date for TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to divest the social media company, under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump this summer.
But as the deadline came and went, confusion reigned over what consequences might be in store for TikTok. Trump’s executive order did not say that TikTok would be banned if it missed the deadline; in fact, it outlines no consequences at all. The order’s ambiguity highlights the extremely unusual approach the Trump administration has taken with one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms, which has 100 million users in the United States alone.
On Friday morning, however, TikTok told a federal judge that the US government had granted the company’s request for an extension. The move doesn’t resolve the outstanding questions facing the company — it must still fight for its proposed deal and is embroiled in litigation over Trump’s earlier attempted restrictions such as a ban from US app stores — but it provides TikTok with some temporary breathing room.
So, for the time being, we are continuing to be on a holding position on what is going to happen. The new date set is apparently November 27th, so we have another week of waiting. At that point, it’s anyone’s guess as to what is going to happen next.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
