Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who President-elect Donald Trump recently announced will serve as his national security adviser, said on Jan. 15 that the incoming U.S. leader is exploring ways to “preserve” TikTok in the country amid a looming ban.
Waltz made the remarks during an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier in response to questions regarding a report from The Washington Post that said Trump was considering various options to prevent TikTok from having to cease U.S. operations.
Such options could include an executive order to suspend enforcement of the divest-or-ban law for 60 to 90 days, Baier said, citing the report.
“TikTok itself is a fantastic platform,” Waltz said. “The algorithm is amazing. We’re going to find a way to preserve it but protect people’s data and that’s the deal that will be in front of us.”
The federal law requires ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest its popular video app TikTok in the United States by Jan. 19—one day before Trump’s inauguration—on national security grounds or face a ban in one of its largest markets.
The law grants the president the authority to force the divestiture of social media companies operating in the United States that are more than 20 percent controlled, either directly or indirectly, by foreign adversaries that present a significant national security threat to the United States.
Extending enforcement of the law would grant the incoming administration more time to negotiate a sale or an alternative solution to a full-scale ban on the social media platform.
“If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he’s going to protect their data,” Waltz said.
“He’s a deal maker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place.”
Waltz noted ongoing concerns among officials in Washington regarding the Chinese Communist Party having access to TikTok users’ data.
“It’s the threat from China seeing the data, being able to manipulate hundreds of millions of Americans. We wouldn’t have had that with the Soviet Union and we certainly shouldn’t have it with the Chinese Communist Party,” Waltz said.
The nation’s highest court appears poised to uphold the ban on the social media app following those arguments, during which the justices focused mainly on whether a ban would violate the First Amendment.
The court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter before the Jan. 19 deadline.
