Biden won’t enforce TikTok ban: Reports

by | Jan 16, 2025 | The Hill

Reports allege that President Biden will not enforce the TikTok ban slated to take effect on Sunday, just one day before the presidential inauguration, according to multiple reports, including by the Associated Press .

An administration official told the AP Biden will leave the decision to implement the ban or not to President-elect Trump.

“Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement,” a White House official similarly told Politico .

The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Democrats including former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have urged the Chinese company owned by ByteDance to divest and sell the platform to an American owner.

“It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers,” Schumer said Thursday on the floor.

Lawmakers near Silicon Valley have argued the ban is a violation of First Amendment rights in a debate questioning whether or not the app is a threat to national security. 

“Seventy-one percent of Americans want to protect data privacy. Only 31 percent want a ban on TikTok. Congress, A, doesn’t understand, in my view, all of the social media and how it’s working, and, B, is out of touch with what the American people want,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) stated last year. 

“So, pass a law, one, to prevent these apps, whether it’s TikTok or Facebook or YouTube, for collecting data. That bill has been sitting in the House Commerce Committee for years, and it doesn’t move,” he emphasized. “Second, pass a law that if there’s evidence that the data goes to China, then Oracle and TikTok would be held liable, civilly or criminally.”

His suggestions must now be passed along to President-elect Trump who has made efforts to “save” the platform by asking the Supreme Court to delay a decision on the ban while he negotiates a resolution.

The high court announced it would share at least one opinion with the public on Friday.

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Democratic senator on Biden’s farewell plea: ‘Now he tells us’ 

by | Jan 16, 2025 | The Hill

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said statements in President Biden’s farewell speech came much too late in a Thursday statement, raising question with the commander-in-chief’s parting remarks. 

“Now he tells us. Biden speaks out against dark money, for climate action, and for SCOTUS term limits. I pressed four years for this speech,” Whitehouse posted on the social media platform X.

“That was a great speech. Had that speech launched the reelection campaign, we’d have won. Had that speech launched his presidency, we’d have saved America. Now we fight on,” he wrote in a subsequent post . 

Whitehouse’s comments criticizing Biden emphasize party sentiments after Democrats not only lost the White House but also the majority in the Senate, delivering the GOP a trifecta.  Some have criticized President Biden for not suspending his presidential campaign early enough, which resulted in a stunted bid for the presidency by Vice President Harris. 

Throughout his time in office, Biden proposed a few of the ideas mentioned by Whitehouse, such as pushing for Supreme Court term limits , but never candidly revealed these desires in a compact speech, such as the one delivered on Wednesday.

The overarching theme of the outgoing president’s final address focused on the consolidation of power, warning of oligarchs as President-elect Trump enters the White House. 

“In a democracy, there’s another danger to the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division,” he stated. “Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning, and people don’t feel like they have a fair shot.” 

“But we have to stay engaged in the process,” he continued.

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