Since then, opinions have shifted somewhat. While Trump initially pushed for the ban, his stance appears to have softened over time. He now suggests that if Biden's administration were to succeed in banning TikTok, it could inadvertently bolster the dominance of Facebook. According to Trump, Facebook poses a similar level of risk as TikTok due to concerns over user data privacy and its impact on national security.
From CNBC:
Now, U.S. lawmakers are once again stepping up efforts to tackle concerns surrounding TikTok, with separate pieces of legislation proposing either a divestiture of TikTok by ByteDance, or a full ban. Incumbent President Joe Biden, who has expressed national security concerns over TikTok, has also said he would sign a bill to ban the app, if Congress passes it.
Trump has recently softened his tone, saying he fears a TikTok ban would only serve to make Facebook more powerful.
In Monday’s interview, Trump said that he feels TikTok remains a national security risk, given its Chinese ownership — but he also deflected attention to Facebook, noting that the platform has similar issues concerning privacy and security.
“If China wants anything from [TikTo], they will give it, so that’s a national security risk [that] goes up,” Trump acknowledged. “But when I look at it, I’m not looking to make Facebook double the size. And if you ban TikTok, Facebook and others — but mostly Facebook — will be a big beneficiary, and I think Facebook has been very busy.”
“I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” Trump added.
