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As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, the future of TikTok in the United States is uncertain. What do you think should happen to the app?
The TikTok logo on a smartphone arranged in the Queens borough of New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Gabby Jones/© 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP)
By Annie Jonas
January 17, 2025 | 3:14 PM
2 minutes to read
As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, the future of TikTok in the United States hangs in the balance. The Biden administration won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Instead, the responsibility for carrying out the law, including any potential ban on the popular social media platform, will fall to president-elect Donald Trump.
Last year, Congress passed a law, signed by Biden, mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok by the January deadline. However, the outgoing administration has chosen not to act on the law, effectively leaving its enforcement up to the incoming administration.
Trump, who has previously advocated for a nationwide ban on TikTok, has since reversed course, stating his intent to keep the app available in the U.S. However, his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.
TikTok has long been at the center of a contentious debate over national security, data privacy, and its ties to China. In 2023, a congressional hearing highlighted concerns about potential Chinese surveillance through the app and security breaches. Following the hearing, a majority of Boston.com readers indicated support for a ban, citing the need for better data protection and privacy.
Most recently, in a last-ditch attempt to extend TikTok’s lifespan, U.S. Senator Ed Markey introduced a bill on Monday that seeks to push the divestment deadline back by 270 days. Markey’s office argued that the original timeline was rushed and insufficiently considered the app’s widespread use in the U.S. today.
“I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior,” Markey said. “But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
As the app’s demise approaches, and the fate of TikTok remains uncertain, we want to know: Should TikTok be banned or saved? What do you think the Trump administration will do with the app?
Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
TikTok ban: Share your reactions with us
Annie Jonas
Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.
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