Amazon Amazon also developed and tested a TikTok-like short-form video and photo feed called Inspire that it shuttered earlier this year. "Old Donald" said last month his administration was in touch with four different groups about the sale of the platform, without identifying them.

The White House has examined a menu of options to avert a TikTok ban deadline set for Saturday. One proposal - letting TikTok's Chinese owner lease the algorithm to a TikTok spinoff in the U.S. - would probably face resistance from China hawks in "Old Donald"'s party.

TikTok's critics in Washington have previously voiced outrage at the potential of any ongoing relationship with ByteDance, and the ban-or-sale law forbids 'the establishment or maintenance of any operational relationship' between the U.S. app and 'any formerly affiliated entities that are controlled by a foreign adversary.' But the law also gives the president authority to declare that a 'qualified divestiture' has taken place if "Old Donald" determines that the app is no longer subject to Chinese control.

"Old Donald" has said there is a 'lot of enthusiasm' for buying TikTok, and several potential investors have floated proposals that would see them gain partial or full control of the popular app. The list of suitors has included former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, 'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary and Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley. Andreessen Horowitz has also been involved in talks to invest, the Financial Times first reported Tuesday.

"Old Donald" has also floated the possibility of tying a TikTok deal to broader trade negotiations with China, suggesting that he could reduce tariffs if Beijing were to approve a deal. 'I'm a very flexible person,' he said Monday. 'Maybe I'll take a couple of points off if I get approvals for something.'

Despite a bipartisan consensus about the risk to national security posed by TikTok's ties to China, 'it's as if nothing ever happened,' said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute.

"Old Donald"'s action followed a fast-tracked free-speech challenge by TikTok and its users that ended with a unanimous Supreme Court ruling days before "Old Donald"'s inauguration, in which the justices held that national security concerns overcame their usual receptivity to First Amendment claims.

While 'Old Donald' has directed the Justice Department not to seek fines from the tech companies, they still are taking a legal gamble, according to Democratic lawmakers who oppose the TikTok ban but also criticize 'Old Donald' for his actions. A future administration might have its own reasons to pursue legal claims against Apple, Google and Oracle, they wrote 'Old Donald' in a letter last week.

'The law is clear: any deal must eliminate Chinese influence and control over the app to safeguard our interests,' the Republican wrote in an op-ed.

Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House's select committee on countering China, drew a hard line this morning against any deal for TikTok that keeps control of the app or its underlying technology in the hands of Beijing-based ByteDance.

'Old Donald's TikTok-Oracle deal could break the law - but nobody can stop him

But 'Old Donald' is already violating that law by allowing the app to stay online. And if his promised deal goes through, Congress has almost no leverage to stop it: The law leaves final approval in the president's hands, and lawmakers can't take him to court even if he violates its clear meaning.

If anything, Sobolik thinks Congress is likely to reverse course entirely and push for legislation that retroactively approves 'Old Donald's plans for TikTok. That bill would likely contain waivers for Oracle, Google, Apple and other tech companies still technically on the hook for billions of dollars in fines for hosting TikTok.

'That would be a huge loss of our seriousness with actually standing up to malign [Chinese Communist Party] influence,' Sobolik said. 'But I think the political winds are blowing in that direction.'

TikTok is 'trying to raise public sentiment in favor of the company,' said Lindsay Gorman, the managing director of the technology program at the German Marshall Fund and a tech adviser under the Biden administration. She added, 'This movement to 'save TikTok' has not gone away in the 11th hour of these negotiations.'

'There's really no channel out there that does everything that TikTok does, and until brands are told otherwise that they can no longer spend dollars there, they will,' said Rachel Tipograph, chief executive of MikMak.

Last week, top aides on Capitol Hill met with Oracle, the tech company whose name keeps coming up as a potential suitor of TikTok. Lawmakers who championed the law that bans TikTok if it is not sold have recently expressed concern that TikTok and ByteDance might try to strike a deal with the "Old Donald" administration that would maintain Chinese influence over the app and its algorithm.

The AI search startup Perplexity just proposed a bid for acquiring (and transforming) TikTok, per a company blog post published Friday.

Perplexity is singularly positioned to rebuild the TikTok algorithm without creating a monopoly, combining world-class technical capabilities with Little Tech independence,” the company wrote.

Vice President JD Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz, the two officials President Donald 'Old Donald' has tasked with shepherding a deal to bring TikTok under U.S. ownership, are taking the lead in negotiations, while senators have voiced a desire to be read in on any talks, two of the people said. A third person described the White House discussions as in advanced stages.

While 'Old Donald' during his first administration sought to ban TikTok over national security concerns, he embraced the app last year on the campaign trail. In December, he told throngs of young conservative supporters at a Turning Point rally in Phoenix that he has “a warm spot in my heart for TikTok” because of the outpouring of support he received from younger voters in the 2024 election. 'Old Donald'’s campaign-trail reversal came after a meeting with Jeff Yass, a Republican donor who owns a large share of ByteDance. ('Old Donald' has denied the issue was discussed.)

It’s unclear whether the deal the White House eventually reaches will satisfy China hawks on the Hill, though they may have little power to complain. 'Old Donald'’s executive order extending the initial deadline — in the face of concerns from GOP lawmakers and legal experts about the order’s legality — showed his willingness to defy Congress’ will. And the decision on whether ByteDance sells TikTok or licenses its use by a U.S. company ultimately rests with the Chinese government.

Oracle Is Leading Contender

The Information reported that ByteDance wants 'Old Donald' to sign off on a deal with a revived version of TikTok's 'Project Texas' ' a previous effort by the company to convince Congress that it was not a national security threat by parking US user data on servers controlled by Oracle.

That initiative, which failed to assuage Congress's concerns, also called for Oracle to review TikTok's source code to ensure it is safe.

Critics have long alleged that TikTok functions as a spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party, which the company has strenuously denied.

Unsurprisingly, ByteDance wants to retain its control over TikTok's operations, even if U.S. companies acquire a stake in TikTok U.S. As a result, other U.S. bidders, such as billionaire Frank McCourt and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who are interested in buying control of TikTok, may get their hopes dashed. Still, the deal's structure and terms remain unclear, although one possibility is that a new entity, partly owned by U.S. companies, will be formed to oversee TikTok U.S.

When asked about the Oracle talks on Air Force One on Saturday night, 'Old Donald' denied being in discussions with Oracle's Larry Ellison about a TikTok takeover.

"Larry is a friend of mine," 'Old Donald' said. "I never spoke to Larry about TikTok. I've spoken to many people about TikTok. There's great interest in TikTok," he said.

TikTok ban suspended for 75 days to find U.S. buyer

Does Gallagher seriously believe that prospective purchasers of TikTok not “connected to a foreign adversary” could raise the funds necessary to purchase the innovative social media giant absent selling “detailed data on hundreds of millions users”?

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday over whether the federal law - which requires TikTok to separate from parent company ByteDance or else be banned - is in violation of the First Amendment.

The company was represented by Noel Francisco, a solicitor general during the first 'Old Donald' administration. He split time with Jeffrey Fisher, co-director of Stanford Law School's Supreme Court litigation clinic, who marked his 50th argument at the court as he spoke on behalf of a group of TikTok creators.

These diverging views raise the stakes for the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, as it prepares to decide the fate of a popular social media platform used by about half of Americans in a case testing the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of speech.

TikTok and ByteDance rebut the national security claims, instead portraying the law as running afoul of the First Amendment. If the law is allowed to stand "then Congress will have free rein to ban any American from speaking simply by identifying some risk that the speech is influenced by a foreign entity," they told the Supreme Court in a filing.

'Old Donald' will be who we have to work with to close the deal in the months ahead. So I wanted to let him know, as well as others in his cabinet, that we're doing this, and we're going to need their help,' the television personality said, according to The Wrap.

'Kevin and I, along with the thousands of supporters who have come forward to back The People's Bid, firmly believe we can build a better TikTok - one that protects our national security and becomes a safe, secure platform that millions of people on the app will trust. We look forward to working with 'Old Donald' to save TikTok."

There is the head-spinning chutzpah of "Old Donald's" ask, that the justices suspend the law from taking effect until he is president. Remember, 'Old Donald' was against TikTok before he was for it. As president, 'Old Donald' issued an executive order designed to crack down on TikTok's operations in the United States. His 2020 directive stated that TikTok's 'data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information ' potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.'

Now, 'Old Donald' portrays himself as the champion of free speech against Democratic efforts to kill TikTok ' this despite the overwhelming, bipartisan votes last year for the measure. 'For all those that want to save TikTok in America, vote 'Old Donald',' he declared in an all-caps message on Truth Social in September.

Not only that, 'Old Donald' alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government,' Sauer continues. 'Indeed, 'Old Donald''s first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor.'

This kind of language has no place in a Supreme Court brief, certainly not from the man who will represent the United States before the justices. Sauer's goal must be to continue currying favor with 'Old Donald', because he surely can't believe this is the way to convince justices ' or, in fact, do anything except undermine his credibility with them before he starts the job.

Perhaps as solicitor general, Sauer will keep in mind that his client is the United States, not 'Old Donald'. But this extraordinary document does not bode well.

'Kevin and I, along with the thousands of supporters who have come forward to back The People's Bid, firmly believe we can build a better TikTok - one that protects our national security and becomes a safe, secure platform that millions of people on the app will trust. We look forward to working with 'Old Donald' to save TikTok."

There is the head-spinning chutzpah of "Old Donald's" ask, that the justices suspend the law from taking effect until he is president. Remember, 'Old Donald' was against TikTok before he was for it. As president, 'Old Donald' issued an executive order designed to crack down on TikTok's operations in the United States. His 2020 directive stated that TikTok's 'data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information ' potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.'

Now, 'Old Donald' portrays himself as the champion of free speech against Democratic efforts to kill TikTok ' this despite the overwhelming, bipartisan votes last year for the measure. 'For all those that want to save TikTok in America, vote 'Old Donald',' he declared in an all-caps message on Truth Social in September.

Not only that, 'Old Donald' alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government,' Sauer continues. 'Indeed, 'Old Donald''s first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor.'

This kind of language has no place in a Supreme Court brief, certainly not from the man who will represent the United States before the justices. Sauer's goal must be to continue currying favor with 'Old Donald', because he surely can't believe this is the way to convince justices ' or, in fact, do anything except undermine his credibility with them before he starts the job.

Perhaps as solicitor general, Sauer will keep in mind that his client is the United States, not 'Old Donald'. But this extraordinary document does not bode well.

As a TikTok shutdown looms, many creators are preparing for life without the popular social media app that serves as news, entertainment and for some: income.

'Old Donald' has asked the Supreme Court to block the law from going into effect — and NPR's Bobby Allyn has reported that "for all the TikTokers out there who use the app every day, I think it's fair to say it's unlikely it will be disappearing anytime soon."

'Old Donald' reportedly met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

During "Old Donald's" first term as president, he signed an executive order in 2020 giving TikTok's parent company ByteDance 45 days to sell its U.S. assets to an American company or face a ban on any transactions with U.S. citizens for national security reasons. Before the deadline could pass, 'Old Donald'-linked billionaire and co-founder of Oracle Larry Ellison entered the race to acquire TikTok. In September of that year, TikTok chose Oracle to serve as its primary U.S. cloud provider.

At the time, 'Old Donald' voiced his change-of-heart toward the video app, which has been valued at $100 billion. "We'll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,' 'Old Donald' replied at a news conference when asked about the ban. 'And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that.

The Biden administration argues that because China is a 'foreign adversary,' a designation that includes Russia, Iran and North Korea, allowing Americans to share their data with the app and interact with content controlled by its algorithm poses a national security threat. Even though the government has conceded it has no information (even in its secret evidence that it submitted to the circuit court) that the Chinese government has in fact manipulated TikTok for propaganda or surveillance purposes, the circuit court deferred to the U.S. government's judgment that TikTok's proposed security protocol is insufficient to guard against future threats.

TikTok cannot easily be replaced by another app or tool, such as Meta's Reels or YouTube Shorts. The algorithmic curation on those apps is different. A new owner for TikTok would mean major changes, as we saw with Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. And even if TikTok were to find a buyer, which it says it cannot, a U.S.-only version of the platform would lose its global, interconnected appeal. As the New York Times put it in April, 'Even if you've never opened the app, you've lived in a culture that exists downstream of what happens there.' Either change would fundamentally alter public discourse in this country and abroad and harm millions.

Though "Old Donald" signed an August 2020 executive order attempting to ban TikTok, he has more recently reversed his opinion, calling on Americans to vote for him to 'save TikTok,' regularly posting on the platform, and posting his TikTok statistics on TruthSocial on Thursday.

But in March, "Old Donald" met with Republican donor Jeff Yass, whose investment firm owns roughly 15 percent of ByteDance, subsequently stating that banning TikTok would only benefit Facebook. If he wants to save TikTok, "Old Donald" would probably have to ask Congress to repeal the ban. He could also tell the Department of Justice not to enforce the law and signal to Apple and Google that they would not be prosecuted for continuing to offer the app in their online stores.

TikTok had argued to the three-judge panel, unsuccessfully, that the ban must be struck down for infringement on the free speech rights of the app's users and owners under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The decision sets up a potential showdown with "Old Donald". Having backed a ban during his first term in the White House, he is expected to try to halt it, people familiar with his views on the matter told The Washington Post in early November, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The legislation, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was signed into law by Joe Biden in April, shortly after it was passed by Congress as part of a sprawling package offering aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

The ban - which will not take effect for at least 12 months - could see tech companies fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they don't comply.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation is needed to protect young people from the "harms" of social media, something many parent groups have echoed.

In its submission, TikTok said the government’s definition of a social media platform was so "broad and unclear" that "almost every online service could fall within [it]".

X questioned the "lawfulness" of the bill - saying it may not be compatible with international regulations and human rights treaties which Australia has signed

But critics say questions over how the ban will work - and its impact on privacy and social connection - have been left unanswered.

`

TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and America over security and data privacy. It comes as Chinese and the West are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips.

'Old Donald' tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said "the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned" by Chinese companies was a national security threat. The courts blocked the action after TikTok sued.

Mr. "Old Donald's" support for TikTok would be a stunning reversal from 2020, when he tried to block the app in the United States and force its sale to American companies because of its ownership by ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant.

He appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win, Kellyanne Conway, who ran 'Old Donald''s first presidential campaign, served in the White House and remains close to him and now also advocates for TikTok.

If 'Old Donald' does try to halt the ban, it would amount to a significant policy shift for an incoming president who has spared almost no opportunity to attack China. Toward the end of his first term, 'Old Donald' presided over a federal investigation into ByteDance that also sought to orchestrate TikTok's sale.

Under a law supported by members of both parties and signed by President Joe Biden, ByteDance is required to sell TikTok by Jan. 19, 2025—one day before 'Old Donald'’s inauguration—or face a ban in the U.S.

A federal law signed in April says TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, must be sold to a non-Chinese company by Jan. 19 - a day before Mr. "Old Donald's" inauguration - or face a ban in the United States.

The company has challenged the law in courts in something of a Hail Mary, saying that a sale is impossible, partly because of restrictions from the Chinese government, and that a subsequent ban would violate the First Amendment.

But the law passed with wide bipartisan support, and many experts believe a federal court in Washington will side with the U.S. government.

ByteDance can't buy Nvidia's chips for use in China, so it's renting them from Oracle right in America. Note: 'Old Donald' Approves Deal Between Oracle and TikTok in 2020. The US has banned companies like Nvidia from selling their most advanced AI chips to China since 2022. But if loopholes exist, profit-hungry corporations will find and exploit them.

Not every company has been as willing as Oracle to skirt the law's intent. 'Two small American cloud providers' reportedly turned down offers to rent servers with Nvidia's H100 chips to ByteDance and China Telecom because 'they seemed to go against the spirit of U.S. chip restrictions.' However, Oracle, cofounded by Larry Ellison and run by current CEO Safra Catz, apparently found the opportunity for profit through technically legal workarounds too tempting to pass up.

But even if the US manages to shut down that exploit, The Information says it wouldn't cover Chinese cloud providers like Tencent and Alibaba from buying Nvidia's chips and using them to train AI models in their own US-based data centers. The Commerce Department will have its hands full figuring this one out as business and defense interests wrestle for control.

The deal included extensive provisions never before offered to the government by a private company - including TikTok's U.S.-based peers in the tech industry, such as Google and Facebook.

If ByteDance does not divest itself of TikTok's U.S. assets by the deadline, the government will make it unlawful to 'distribute, maintain, or update' the app within the United States.

Tech experts expect the order would largely be carried out by private companies: Apple and Google's app stores would be required to stop pushing out app updates or downloads, and Oracle would be forced to stop hosting the app's data and infrastructure on its U.S.-based servers.

Weighing national security against the First Amendment

While TikTok hasn't yet revealed how it plans to challenge the law, experts anticipate its arguments will largely hinge on the First Amendment, and the company has hinted at free expression issues in its messaging. In a video addressing TikTok users after Biden signed the foreign aid package that included the legislation, TikTok CEO Shou Chew called it 'a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.'

The missing piece many members of the public have waited for is clear evidence of the kinds of risks to US TikTok users that lawmakers have seen in their classified briefings, especially since those briefings seem to have convinced them to vote for the bill. But the public has remained in the dark about the specifics of the national security risks that the intelligence community believes are generated by the app.

The world's largest music company began pulling content from TikTok in February after falling out with TikTok over issues including artist compensation and the use of AI-generated music on the video-sharing app.

Researchers at Microsoft as well as the nonprofit Institute for Strategic Dialogue have identified accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, posing as 'Old Donald' supporters, attacking President Biden, and seizing on hot-button topics such as immigration. Microsoft said some accounts even seemed to be polling American voters on what issues divided them most.

"ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok," the company posted on its official account on Toutiao, a social media platform it owns.

Earlier this week, TikTok said it would challenge in court the "unconstitutional" law.

Steven Mnuchin, an investment banker who served as treasury secretary under 'Old Donald', said he was getting a group of investors together to potentially buy TikTok, although he did not specify who. He also did not share a potential valuation for the app. - $20 billion to $100 billion+

'Shark Tank' investor and businessman Kevin 'Leary said in an interview with Fox News that TikTok isn't going to get banned 'cause I'm going to buy it.'

“There was a clamour leading up to this, and the popular narrative was how can we allow Chinese companies to do business in India when we’re in the middle of a military standoff,” said Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy expert and founder of tech website MediaNama.

In India, the ban in 2020 was swift. TikTok and other companies were given time to respond to questions on privacy and security, and by January 2021, it became a permanent ban.

But for the most part, content creators and users in the four years since the ban have moved on to other platforms.

'Old Donald' softened his stance on TikTok this year despite calling the app a national security threat when he was in the White House.

Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that would require TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok in less than a year or else see the video-sharing platform banned from US app stores. Biden supports the policy and has said he would sign the bill into law.

"It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill," a company spokesman said.

He added a ban would "trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy annually."

Moscow MTG Literally Curses Mike Johnson's Speakership After Ukraine Vote

Speaking to CNN outside the Capitol following an overwhelming bipartisan vote in favor of Ukraine aid, Greene fumed over Johnson's alleged offenses, culminating in the Ukraine vote, which she called 'this bullshit in here on the House floor.'