• Donald Trump said he would “never ban TikTok” during the 2024 presidential campaign.
• Without court intervention, TikTok could be banned as soon as Trump takes office.
• Business Insider asked legal experts what Trump could do to save the app if he wanted to.

Donald Trump may not be able to save TikTok, despite promising to do so during the campaign.

President-elect in June told the app’s users “He would never ban TikTok.” This may have earned him some support from the app’s fans, partners, and business partners. employees Those who rely on TikTok to make money.

This being the case, TikTok is still walking towards its collapse due to a crisis. April law A resolution passed by Congress that forces owner ByteDance to either give up its US assets or be banned from app stores.

TikTok is challenging the law in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. So far, Things are not going well for the company. TikTok presents a free speech argument against alleged national security concerns tied to its owner being based in China, which the U.S. government has designated a foreign adversary. DC Circuit often Respects Congress When it comes to national security. The case may eventually go to the Supreme Court.

It is set to be sold into practice without court intervention (not likely) or was banned on January 19, the day before the opening. President Joe Biden has the option to extend that period by 90 days before leaving office, but has not indicated he would do so.

Despite Trump’s election victory, TikTok’s future in the US still has many question marks, legal experts told Business Insider. Since Trump is unlikely to repeal the law, he must first prevail in the courts to give the company a chance to continue its implementation.

“Since the law was passed by Congress, I’m not sure how much leeway a future Trump administration will have to ignore it,” GS Hans, clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School, told BI.

Matthew Schettenhelm, a litigation and policy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said Trump could try to persuade Congress to repeal or replace the law, but that seems unlikely.

“If TikTok loses the lawsuit, as I expect, it is much harder to see Trump stopping the ban from going into effect on January 19,” he said.

Trump has two options to try to save TikTok once he takes office. Legal sources told BI that none of this is simple.

Strategy one: Don’t enforce the law

Trump could protect TikTok by asking the Justice Department not to enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Hostile Controlled Practices Act regarding TikTok.

“There is a history of the Justice Department or the president challenging a law that is on the books, not enforcing it, potentially outlawing it, or refusing to defend it,” said Aram A. Gavoor, a former senior adviser to the Justice Department. He currently serves as associate dean for academic affairs at George Washington University School of Law.

As an example, Gavoor pointed to former president Barack Obama’s administration’s decision to stop defending the United States. Defense of the Marriage LawThe law banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage has since been overturned.

If Trump refrains from enforcing the divestment or prohibition law, he may not be able to withstand a legal challenge because it is possible that the Supreme Court has already upheld its constitutionality when he tries to ignore it.

If Trump’s Justice Department chooses not to defend the law, Bloomberg’s Schettenhelm said it could be risky for American companies like Apple and Google, which host TikTok in their app stores, to keep it around. Trump already rolled over afterwards on TikTok try to ban and later force a sale Who’s to say he won’t change his mind again?

“I’m not sure they want to take on a huge liability in the hope that President Trump won’t change his mind and start enforcing the law against them,” Schettenhelm said.

Strategy two: Pretend the law doesn’t apply to TikTok

Trump may also argue that TikTok is not subject to the divestment or ban bill.

This seems a bit absurd, as the bill specifically names TikTok and ByteDance as covered companies.

Gavoor said it was possible for TikTok and ByteDance to reorganize under the law “in a way that does not trigger direct designation of their names, subsidiaries or successors.”

“There are a variety of different potential corporate structures that they are undoubtedly considering,” Gavoor said.

University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rozenshtein also said: Fast Company Trump could announce ByteDance is leaving TikTok without actually having to do so.

Both of these approaches will attempt to circumvent the language of the law to avoid enforcing it.

Any tactics a future Trump administration might employ to keep TikTok around would be “uncharted territory,” Cornell’s Hans said.

“Given that the law’s effective date is the day before Inauguration Day, there are all kinds of open questions about how this will play out,” he said.

Of course, given all the legal hurdles, Trump may decide that saving TikTok isn’t worth the effort while he pursues other issues in his first days in office.

Representatives for the Trump campaign and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.