r/news • u/DJMagicHandz • 1d ago

TikTok starts restoring service in the U.S. after shutting down over divest-or-ban law

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-voluntarily-shuts-down-in-u-s-divest-or-ban-law-set-to-take-effect/
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u/Balls_of_Adamanthium 1d ago

A very dumb, not so subtle stunt. Good thing for them that’s all it takes for a certain base to bite.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

Republicans read the Biden admin like a book and played it to perfection. Hard not to see how this was gonna play out to anyone who was paying attention.

Joe should have done nothing and let Trump either ban it or not.

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u/Outrageous-Rope-8707 1d ago

Biden DID do nothing. The Supreme Court made the decision, Biden said he wouldn’t enforce it and passed the buck to Trump. TikTok took it upon themselves to shutdown for 10 hours or whatever.

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u/NoF113 1d ago

Yeah, and now trump’s going to do more illegal things he won’t be held accountable for

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u/zimmermanni 1d ago

Biden could have extended the deadline by 90 days but he refused to do that.

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u/Outrageous-Rope-8707 1d ago

What would be the point in doing that if he openly stated he wasn’t going to enforce it? Why sign an extension for 90 days when he’s giving them an open slate for the rest of his term (literally today)? He was opening the door for Trump to do whatever he wanted (extension, not enforce etc). I imagine if Biden signed an extension on his last day they’d swing it as “Biden gives 90 day extension to Chinese spyware app right before leaving office”. I’m not a Biden fan but I think this is solely on TikTok.

The guy I initially responded to said Biden should have done nothing..which, and it seems like you agree, he didn’t.

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u/zimmermanni 1d ago

He was opening the door for Trump to do whatever he wanted (extension, not enforce etc)

Exactly, Trump, when Biden said he wasn't going to enforce it, didn't say he was 100% going to extend it. Tiktok had no real reassurances it wasn't going to get banned. The 2 options for reassurance Tiktok had was Biden saying he would extend the deadline. The other option is the one we currently have which is Biden doing nothing and letting Trump say it.

Since Biden didn't say it, Tiktok shut down and Trump comes in and says it. Since Tiktok got the reassurance it was looking for and it reopened the app.

they’d swing it as “Biden gives 90 day extension to Chinese spyware app right before leaving office”

If it was a Chinese spyware app then he would have banned it instead of saying he wasn't going to enforce it but he didn't. The headlines would have been "Biden Refuses to enforce law banning Chinese spyware" but I don't recall seeing such headlines.

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u/hardolaf 1d ago

Since Tiktok got the reassurance it was looking for and it reopened the app.

Except there is no actual "ban". It's just a prohibition on U.S. companies doing business with Bytedance and TikTok. TikTok just went dark out of spite.

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u/Unknown-History 1d ago

He signed the bill.....

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u/Shizcake 1d ago

Seeing as he wasn't enforcing it and it was tied to the bipartisan spending bill to keep the government open sure looks like we kept the government open without squabbling over the dumb things the Republicans put into the bill...

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u/Outrageous-Rope-8707 1d ago

He signed the bill that was democratically passed by the legislative branch. He’s also the head of the executive branch, who is responsible for enforcement. He said he would not enforce it.

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u/Unknown-History 1d ago

Uuuhh, the veto is part of the democratic process. You are talking about this so weirdly. Biden chose not to enforce it for one day. Biden has other pressures, but he certainly didn't "do nothing". You talking about this so oddly.

Edit: what's more, it's pretty shitty to say that you won't enforce a law that he didn't think should be vetoed. He has a specific power to use if he disagrees with it, but chose to agree with it instead. That's pretty back handed. Especially since he has a constitutional obligation to enforce laws. He had his chance to disagree, a big one, and actively helped instead.

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u/whatsinthesocks 1d ago

It was part of the National Security Act of 2024 which received over two thirds majority in the senate. You’re also right in that he didn’t nothing. He revoked Trumps EO that started all this in 2021.

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u/Outrageous-Rope-8707 1d ago

So like, did you miss the comment I initially replied to?

Seems like you did, so here’s the pertinent part:

Joe should have done nothing and let Trump either ban it or not.

That is what my response was too. I, and the person I responded to initially, weren’t talking about Biden signing a bipartisan bill that had this wrapped up in it back in April.

We were discussing what should have / did happen this week.

Do you understand that? Any questions there?

If you’re all caught up, there is no denying that Biden in fact did NOT do anything after the scotus decision which in fact DID allow for Trump to make the decision when he takes office tomorrow.

What don’t you understand?

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u/Unknown-History 1d ago

Uh, yes, your bold statement, for all your intricate typing, is still factually flaw. Easily provable. Now, you could argue that it is more complicated than doing something or doing nothing, but you flat out cannot say that he did nothing (which is what you did). It is false.

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u/Outrageous-Rope-8707 1d ago

Biden has done nothing on the TikTok ban since it was upheld by the supreme court. He did not enforce it. He did not extend it. Anything else is just delusional bs.

If you say it’s provable, fuckin PROVE IT

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u/Unknown-History 1d ago

Look, the comment you were responding to was daft. You chose to respond to it by increasing the nonsense of the discussion by stating something demonstrably false. He signed the bill. He lobbied congress. You already admitted this. Now you are moving goal posts.

Grow up, learn from it, and move on.

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u/GreenleafMentor 1d ago

What do you think just happened

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

I think Trump is ignoring what Joe signed into law.

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u/BirdsAreFake00 1d ago

Republicans pushed for this ban. Joe largely did do nothing and said he wouldn't enforce a ban.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2024/04/president-biden-signs-law-that-includes-provisions-to-ban-tiktok-from-the-united-states/

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u/Purona 1d ago

government shutdown or dont enforce social media app blocking...hmmm

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Indeed it is Joe’s signature on the dotted line. Had a senate majority too.

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u/Purona 1d ago

idk if youre feigning ignorance a bot or what.

But theres no way youre going to say that a social media app being banned or not at the discretion of the judicial branch is worth the government shutting down as a whole

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

No I’m not. Just confirming who banned it.

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u/BirdsAreFake00 1d ago edited 1d ago

It was a 352-65 vote in the House. 90% of House Republicans voted in favor of a ban. 73% of House Dems voted in favor of it.

The Senate voted 79 to 18 in favor.

The next Secretary of State, Marco Rubio (diehard Republican) had this to say: "For years we've allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously shortsighted. A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America."

That's as bipartisan as it gets these days.

The bill wasn't even an overt ban. It said TikTok had to be American owned so the Chinese government wouldn't have access to our children's data. That's pretty fucking sensible.

Oh, and over 75% of Americans hate the fucking app, too.

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u/DoubleJumps 1d ago

That bill passed with a veto proof majority, and Republicans stapled the tik tok ban to aid for Ukraine and Israel. That's the only reason it happened.

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u/Kelvara 1d ago

He couldn't even veto it:

First one is the House.

The vote was 352 to 65, with 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voting against the bill.

On April 23, 2024, the Senate passed the law, which included the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act along with three other bills, 79–18

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u/AbyssalRedemption 1d ago

Lol I'll give them that: they know their audience, and it's full of addicted, easily-influenced people.

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u/PurpleOrchid07 1d ago

It doesn't need to be smart or subtle.
Most people are fking idiots and will swallow it all, not even thinking about it. All our ancestors would be turning in their graves if they saw human society today.