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Waltz: Trump is considering ways to prevent TikTok from being shut down

Waltz: Trump is considering ways to prevent TikTok from being shut down

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Wednesday that Mr. Trump is considering alternatives to prevent the TikTok network from being shut down.

Waltz made the comment when asked by Fox News journalist Bret Baier about a report in The Washington Post that Trump was considering issuing an executive order to suspend the implementation of a federal law that could ban TikTok in the United States on January 19.

The Supreme Court last week heard arguments in a legal challenge brought by TikTok against a law that would ban the social media platform in the United States. The arguments were presented by China-based parent company ByteDance and users of the platform.

It appears that members of the Supreme Court will not strike down the federal law, which requires the company ByteDance to give up the TikTok platform on national security grounds or face a ban on the network in one of its largest markets.

"If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the law, President Trump has made it very clear. First, TikTok is a great platform that is used by many Americans and has played a great role in getting his campaign message across. Second, he will protect their data ," Waltz said.

"He's known for deals. I don't want to preempt executive orders, but we're going to create this space to reach a deal ," he added.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, dodged a question during a Senate confirmation hearing about whether she would support legislation to ban TikTok.

However, Mr. Trump has changed his stance on the popular app after efforts to ban the network during his first term in the White House amid national security concerns.

During the last presidential campaign, Mr. Trump and his team used TikTok to appeal to young people, especially male voters, with posts that went viral on the platform. He vowed during the campaign to “save TikTok,” and said the social network helped him win more votes among young people./ VOA

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