How K-Pop Stans Set the Stage for the US TikTok Ban
By the time President Trump returned to office earlier this year, TikTok’s fate should have been sealed. Congress had passed, and President Biden had signed, a law requiring the app to be banned or sold by the day before Inauguration Day. But Trump announced he would effectively pause the law. Instead, he said he would “save” the app by brokering a belated sale.
Now, Trump’s attempt to make that sale has taken shape: Last week, the White House announced a plan for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to license a copy of the app’s algorithm to a consortium of investors, at least some of whom have been vocal supporters of Trump’s political agenda. If the plan is finalized, TikTok’s US business will fall into the hands of powerful Trump allies at a moment of unprecedented media consolidation.
Related Knowledge Center: The TikTok ban
The U.S. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law a measure banning TikTok if it weren’t sold by its Chinese ownership. But now-President Donald Trump gave the service a reprieve, and a sale of its U.S. operations appears imminent.
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.