U.S. President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok to shut down its U.S. operations after the White House opened an official account on the controversial Chinese social media app.
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Speaking to reporters on Aug. 22, President Trump said national security and privacy concerns raised about TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance are “overrated,” and that he plans to keep extending the deadline for the popular short-form video-sharing platform to exit the U.S. market.
“We’re gonna watch the security concerns,” President Trump told reporters. “We have buyers, American buyers,” and “until the complexity of things work out, we just extend a little bit longer.” The president’s comments come days after the White House opened an official account on TikTok, @whitehouse, that mostly features video footage of Trump.
Congressional Worries
President Trump’s about-face on TikTok comes after the U.S. Congress approved a ban on the social media app unless its privately held parent company ByteDance sells its controlling stake. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that TikTok could be used to spy on Americans and steal U.S. information and secrets.
President Trump has now extended the deadline for TikTok to leave the U.S. three times since returning to power in January of this year. “I’m a fan of TikTok,” said President Trump on Aug. 22. “My kids like TikTok. Young people love TikTok. If we could keep it going.”
A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans support a TikTok ban, while roughly one-third oppose a ban, and a similar percentage aren’t sure what to do with the Chinese social media app.
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