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Ethan Goldberg
Cybersecurity Expert

Why Trump is reluctant to ban TikTok?

Photo: AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump has delayed the ban on TikTok, citing a personal reason: “Because I got to use it.” This shift marks a dramatic departure from his 2020 executive order that sought to ban the Chinese-owned video-sharing app over national security concerns. Now, five years later, Trump has proclaimed that he has “a warm spot” for TikTok, crediting it with helping him win the youth vote—though there is little evidence to support that claim.

Under the guidance of his son Barron, Trump has amassed over 15 million TikTok followers and now claims that Microsoft and other US companies are in talks to acquire the app. He has promised to deliver an update within 30 days, leaving many to wonder: what happened to the national security threat that TikTok supposedly posed?

Trump’s initial executive order, citing TikTok as a “national emergency,” was blocked by legal challenges. However, the Biden administration continued the push to regulate the app, culminating in a bipartisan law that effectively banned TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, divested its ownership. The US Supreme Court upheld the ban earlier this month.

Despite these legal victories, evidence supporting the national security concerns surrounding TikTok remains vague. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who attended a classified briefing on the matter, described the claims against TikTok as “not convincing” and lacking in substantive information.

TikTok, like other major social media platforms, collects user data, including location, device information, and behavioral patterns. The primary concern is that, as a Chinese-owned company, ByteDance could be compelled by the Chinese government to share this data. TikTok has denied that it has ever been asked to comply with such demands and insists it would refuse if asked. Nonetheless, Chinese law allows the government broad access to corporate data, making skepticism understandable.

China’s history of cyber espionage, including its hacks of the Office of Personnel Management and Microsoft Exchange, has fueled concerns about its technological ambitions. Yet, when it comes to TikTok, much of the younger generation in the US remains unconcerned. Many dismiss the warnings, with some even mocking the fear of Chinese surveillance. As one TikTok user put it: “I would drop-ship my DNA to the front door of the Chinese Communist Party before I watch an Instagram Reel.”

Rather than retreating from Chinese-owned platforms, many young Americans are migrating to even more explicitly Chinese alternatives. In the wake of TikTok’s legal troubles, millions of US users have reportedly joined Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, an app with terms of service written in Mandarin. This defiant embrace of Chinese social media suggests that the national security warnings are falling on deaf ears among TikTok’s core demographic.

Rather than deepening ideological divisions between American and Chinese youth, this digital migration has fostered surprising cultural exchanges. Comments like “Nǐ hǎo guys, here’s my puppy” illustrate an eagerness for connection over the prevailing narratives of geopolitical mistrust.

Ever the opportunist, Trump has once again demonstrated an uncanny ability to read public sentiment—particularly among young Americans. While members of Congress, most of whom are over 70, remain fixated on TikTok as a national security issue, Trump has positioned himself as the platform’s unlikely savior.

What happens next remains uncertain. The platform could be sold to a US company, legal challenges may arise against Trump’s executive order, or Congress could even repeal the law banning TikTok. For now, TikTok has been granted a temporary reprieve, remaining online for at least another 75 days.

The irony of Trump emerging as TikTok’s champion is hard to ignore, yet somehow, it fits the unpredictable nature of both the former president and the social media platform he once sought to ban.

About the Author
Ethan Goldberg is a cybersecurity expert specializing in cyber warfare, focusing on strategic defense and offensive tactics. He leads several technological initiatives and has extensive expertise in the dynamics and influence of social media in modern information warfare.
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