It’s been nearly two months since President Donald Trump announced that he would delay enforcement of the TikTok ban, and yet, there’s been little movement toward either banning the app or forcing its sale. Despite overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, a law signed by President Joe Biden, and a Supreme Court ruling upholding its constitutionality, TikTok remains untouched.
Why?
A Law Ignored
In theory, by now, TikTok should be either sold to a U.S.-approved entity or banned outright. The law was clear: ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, needed to divest from its U.S. operations or face a shutdown. But Trump, upon returning to office, issued an executive order instructing the Attorney General to stand down for 75 days—giving his administration time to figure out its next steps.
Nothing in the law grants the president the authority to suspend enforcement like this. But Trump’s defenders argue that if a sale is on the horizon, it makes sense to pause enforcement.
That argument might have held water if there were an actual sale in progress. But there isn’t.
Where’s the Deal?
On February 3, Trump said that “very substantial people” were discussing buying TikTok and that he would make a decision “probably over the next 30 days.” Fast forward 45 days, and no sale appears imminent. In fact, TikTok hasn’t even responded to any offers. ByteDance seems confident that Trump will continue kicking the can down the road.
Some, like Axios, speculate that Trump might be keeping TikTok as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China trade negotiations. But here’s the problem: the president doesn’t have the legal authority to ignore a law just because it might be useful in negotiations. That’s not how the American legal system works. A law passed by Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court is not a mere suggestion. It’s the law.
The Consequences of Inaction
At this point, TikTok is still fully operational, continuing to collect vast amounts of data from American users while remaining under the control of a Chinese company. The very concerns that prompted the law in the first place—national security risks, data privacy issues, and the app’s impact on young users—are still present.
Yet, thanks to Trump, TikTok remains in legal limbo. The president’s habit of flooding the news cycle with new controversies and announcements has made it easy for this issue to fade from public attention. And that seems to be working in TikTok’s favor.
The bottom line? Whether you support the TikTok ban or not, the president doesn’t get to ignore the law simply because he feels like it. Congress, the Supreme Court, and the American people deserve an answer: Will Trump enforce the law or continue to look the other way?
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