Why no one is challenging Trump’s executive order that keeps TikTok running

WASHINGTON — After TikTok was banned in the United States earlier this year, President Donald Trump gave the platform a reprieve, barreling past a law that was passed in Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court that said the ban was necessary for national security. Despite a bipartisan consensus about the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China, “it’s as if nothing ever happened,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute. TikTok has stayed online, delighting 170 million users in the U.S. TikTok continues to function, much to the delight of its 170 million users in the U.S., and the tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle have been persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump’s Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them. “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, TikTok can access ‘any data’ stored in a consenting user’s ‘contact list’ — including names, photos, and other personal information about unconsenting third parties.” TikTok, which has headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles, has said it prioritizes user safety, and China’s Foreign Ministry has said China’s government has never and will not ask companies to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in foreign countries. More importantly, he said, the TikTok executive order was an early “example of the Trump administration not caring about the rule of law.” While Trump has directed the Justice Department not to seek fines from the tech companies, they still are taking a legal gamble, according to Democratic lawmakers who oppose the TikTok ban but also criticize Trump for his actions.