Jim Jordan on bringing TikTok back online: 'Right now, the law is the law'

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that a change in the law would be necessary to keep TikTok online if ByteDance does not sell the video app to an entity not affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.

“It seems to me, if you're going to do something short of someone else purchasing TikTok and ByteDance no longer owning it, you're going to have to have a change in the law. And if that's what's warranted, then I think the Congress will look at that with the leadership from President Trump,” Jordan said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash.

“But we're fortunate that President Trump is committed to working with us to find a solution,” he said. “So, I think everyone thinks this is going to get solved, because you have the guy coming in tomorrow into the White House, who knows how to get deals done, knows how to get things solved. So, I'm confident in that.”

Jordan said he's comfortable with a 90-day extension, which is allowed as part of a bipartisan bill passed by Congress last April. The bill gave TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, 270 days to divest from the app or face a ban from U.S. app stores.

“What we want is we don't want China spying on Americans. We don't want China influencing young people and the 170 million people who are involved in this app. So that's what we want,” he said, when asked what he would like to see happen.

“How that gets resolved I guess we're open, open to different scenarios,” he continued. “But right now, the law is the law, and of course, you get these companies abiding by the law of it. They don't want the liability concern they would have if they had left this app to continue.”

Topics

TikTok Is Already Back Online

Less than 24 hours after the app went dark, TikTok says President-elect Donald Trump has given it the reassurance it needs to resume service in the US.
Wired - 1h
US Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban Law

“Without doubt, the remedy Congress and the President chose here is dramatic,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion. “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its ends, I do not know.”
Wired - 2d
Supreme Court Backs Law Requiring TikTok to Be Sold or Banned

The company argued that the law, citing potential Chinese threats to the nation’s security, violated its First Amendment rights and those of its 170 million users.
The New York Times - 1d
US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban law

A law passed last year requires TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell the video platform or face a ban.
BBC News - 1d
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban Law

The wildly popular social video platform, which is used by about one-third of all Americans, was banned over national security concerns because of its Chinese ownership.
Inc. - 2d
Biden to defer TikTok law implementation to Trump administration

NBC News Anchor Savannah Sellers joins Meet the Press NOW with reporting that the Biden administration will not plan to levy fines against companies that allow access to TikTok in the U.S. during ...
NBC News - 2d
Online safety laws unsatisfactory, minister says

Peter Kyle responds as internet safety campaigner Ian Russell says laws to protect children need fixing.
BBC News - Jan. 12
Their Social Security benefits were slashed. Now they’re getting hundreds — maybe thousands — of dollars back under new law Biden just signed.

Retired public workers will get check adjustments and retro pay under the recently signed Social Security Fairness Act.
MarketWatch - Jan. 11
USB-C Is Now the Law of the Land in Europe

Apple has already pulled devices to comply with the European Commission’s new Common Charger Directive.
Wired - Jan. 3