In a unanimous, landmark decision on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — a critical step in protecting our digital landscape from the Chinese Communist Party. The ruling set the clock ticking — and this past weekend, tech giants like Apple, Google and Oracle were required to stop offering the TikTok app, website and associated services in the US.
TikTok’s attempts to blame the government are deceiving. The law is not a ban, and Congress gave TikTok a straightforward path to continue operating: Sever ties with the Chinese government, and the restrictions will be immediately lifted. When the law was enacted last April, Congress gave ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, 270 days to sell off its stake and relinquish control of the platform.
But even as American buyers have lined up to make an offer, ByteDance has refused to discuss the possibility of a sale. In a move that is raising eyebrows, the company appears willing to watch its reportedly $50 billion US operation go up in flames rather than comply with the law’s simple requirement to divest.
This is a far cry from the rational reaction of a private company interested in profit. It is the behavior of a foreign adversary that is desperate to avoid losing access to the most effective platform it has to spy on and manipulate the citizens of a country that the Chinese Communist Party views as an enemy. In fact, since this legislation was introduced last March, TikTok and ByteDance have engaged in precisely the kind of deceptive and adversarial behavior that the law’s sponsors — myself included — set out to counter in the first place.
President Trump was one of the first to point out that TikTok poses a serious national security threat, but he also understands the app’s massive appeal to millions of American users. Now, with the incoming administration reportedly considering options to delay the law’s implementation and buy more time for a potential sale, there is a solution to keep things moving.
Congress foresaw this exact scenario and built in a one-time-only, 90-day extension that the president could employ to allow for a seamless transition. This flexibility was provided to give either the outgoing or incoming administration the opportunity to ensure a deal is made, keeping both our digital safety and American users in mind.
What comes next? The law is clear: The only way forward for TikTok is a “qualified divestiture.” According to the law, a qualified divestiture requires TikTok to completely sever ties to ByteDance or any other Chinese-affiliated entities. This includes cutting the cord on the powerful content recommendation algorithm and ensuring that all user data is no longer under Chinese control.
If TikTok, or any related apps like ByteDance-owned Lemon8, want to continue operations in the US, they must break free from China’s grip. This isn’t just about complying with the law — it’s about protecting our national security, and the stakes are too high to ignore. Divesting isn’t just the right move, it is the only move.
It was no accident that Congress set a high bar for a qualified divestiture. TikTok’s past efforts to address the issue simply didn’t meet the mark. The proposals that TikTok has previously brought to the government would continue to allow the Chinese government access to vast amounts of user data. The app relies on ByteDance’s algorithm and services, which are bound by Chinese law to share data with the ruling Communist Party whenever requested. We also know that with ByteDance in control, TikTok’s promises are not trustworthy — as public reporting highlights that ByteDance repeatedly violated commitments it made about TikTok’s independence and its access to Americans’ data.
ByteDance can spin the story all it wants, but with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the time to act is now. This weekend, we watched restrictions go into effect, impacting all American users. With TikTok’s legal appeals exhausted, it’s time for reality to set in. President Trump, the ultimate dealmaker, is the only person to negotiate a solution that results in a safer, more secure TikTok for all Americans. The responsibility now falls solely on ByteDance: Sell, comply with the law and ensure that American users are protected from the Chinese Communist Party’s malign influence.
The stakes are higher than ever — this isn’t just about an app, it’s about defending our national security and taking a stand against foreign adversaries who threaten our way of life. Let’s seize this defining moment and secure our digital future — for every American, for every user and for the future of our nation.
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