1 of 2 | President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23. Trump directed the Department of Justice not to enforce the TikTok ban for 75 days as he presses for a U.S. company to buy the app. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 30 (UPI) — The latest turn in the ongoing saga over TikTok in the United States has brought the balance of power among the three branches of government into the spotlight.
Hours after TikTok went dark, it returned with a “thank you” message to President Donald Trump sent to its more than 170 million U.S. users. A day before being sworn into office, Trump wielded his influence to overrule a law passed by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, delaying enforcement of the TikTok ban.
“Welcome back!” the TikTok prompt read. “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, Tiktok is back in the U.S.!”
Norman Bishara, professor of business law and ethics in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, told UPI the move sets up a struggle for power among the three branches of government.
“It’s anybody’s guess what will happen,” Bishara said of the TikTok ban. “The level of uncertainty has greatly increased.”
The president has expressed his desire for a U.S. company to purchase TikTok, meeting Congress’ requirements. He has also proposed a joint venture between a U.S. company and ByteDance to share ownership of the company.
Trump suggested the app could be worth billions, if not trillions to a U.S. owner.
With an executive order, Trump directed the attorney general to not take any enforcement actions for 75 days, allowing service providers to continue supporting the app. Some companies like Google and Apple remain cautious, refusing to allow new downloads on their app stores.
A pause in enforcement is not an iron-clad guarantee that these companies are free of all liability, Bishara said.
“We’re still trying to figure out behind the scenes what this means,” he said. “There could be other liability there for them. There is some ambiguity when you see what’s at stake.”
UCLA law professor Andrew Verstein told UPI the ambiguity or “opacity” around TikTok reflects the concerns Congress and national security experts had about the app in the first place. But as the occupant of the White House had changed, so too has the level of outward concern about the app as a national security threat.
Verstein and Bishara agreed that Congress conceived a clear law to answer a valid concern about national security and China’s access to U.S. users and their data. The high court affirmed its legality and former President Joe Biden, while still in office, signed off on it while sharing those concerns.
“This is Trump doing something that the statute plainly didn’t envision happening and that is an assertion of executive power,” Verstein said.