Potential TikTok reprieve positive development

On Friday, US president-elect Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect, until his administration takes office and can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.

There are voices claiming that Trump is rendering assistance to TikTok because it helped him harvest support from young voters during his run for the presidency. But US President Joe Biden registered a TikTok account in February, about four months earlier than Trump, while Vice-President Kamala Harris registered her account before she became the presidential nominee. Actually, Trump actively pushed for a TikTok ban in his last term from 2016 to 2020.

TikTok is just a platform, and what really matters is that TikTok has already become part of the daily life and an essential channel of expression for more than 170 million US users and any attempt to ban it risks violating their constitutional freedom of speech.

Data show that since 2020, TikTok's quarterly download volume in the United States has surpassed that of native social media apps such as X(formerly Twitter), You-Tube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. According to Statista, by April, or the time Biden signed a "ban or sell" act targeting it, its number of monthly active users had already exceeded 1.58 billion around the world, making it the fifth most popular social app.

In a statement, TikTok also pointed out that if the "ban or sell" order is not frozen, within a month small businesses on TikTok would lose over $1 billion in revenue. That loss is the real challenge to US national security as it might push higher the unemployment rate that's closely associated with crime and social disorder.

Another blow the TikTok ban will deal is to the credibility of the US government. TikTok is fully registered in accordance with US laws, operates legally and compliantly, and is subject to US regulatory oversight. By trying to suppress a legal company with political power, the US government makes itself and its written laws untrustworthy. This is particularly ironic for a country that claims "free speech" and a free-market economy.

Jan 19 will be the deadline for the "sell or ban" order. It's also going to be the last day of the Biden administration. From Jan 20, the Trump administration will face all the problems of the US. By trying to pause the order, it has made a rational move to protect the US' long-term interests.

- Zhang Zhouxiang, China Daily