The Clock is Ti(c)king
Microsoft is reportedly again interested in purchasing the controversial app TikTok. This just a little more than a week after the app briefly went dark after a law requiring its salewent into effect on January 19, 2025 (the portion of the law requiring TikTok’s sale was challenged and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court). A day later, after taking the oath of office, President Donald Trump ordered a 75-day delay in enforcement of the law, in hopes of finding an appropriate buyer for it. President Trump’s action was a reversal of his previous position calling for the app’s ban. Microsoft declined to comment, and it remains to be seen if other interested buyers will emerge and whether a sale will finalize before the 75-day period expires.
Analysis and eternal perspective: The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the law banning TikTok, but several legal, political, and societal disputes remain, including: 1) Whether President Trump complied with the requirements to delay enforcement (critics point to the law’s requirement that a delay be accompanied by certain certifications to Congress), 2) Whether any buyer will be able to come to terms with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, and 3) In the event of such a sale, whether the underlying national security and privacy concerns that led to the law requiring sale will be alleviated.
As this process continues to unfold, Americans should consider the public policy questions at hand, as well as the constitutional roles allocated to the various authorities involved. TikTok users should consider the benefits and risks of continuing to use the app. We as Jesus followers should consider both of the above, but should give even higher priority to setting our minds on all that is True and beautiful (Philip. 4:8), and our actions toward endeavors that will instruct rather than frustrate (2 Tim. 1:23-26).
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.