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Last updated Nov 29, 2025
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Sacks @ 00:36:54Wrong
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Under the Biden administration, the U.S. government will ultimately impose no meaningful restrictions or bans on TikTok’s operation in the United States; the Trump-era TikTok sanctions effort will effectively be abandoned.
Yeah, I think the sad reality is that the whole TikTok thing is going to get swept under the rug. I think there'll be no restrictions on TikTok.View on YouTube
Explanation

Under Biden, the TikTok issue was not “swept under the rug,” and the U.S. did impose meaningful restrictions and a sale‑or‑ban framework on TikTok.

Key facts:

  1. Revoking Trump’s specific EOs but keeping the national‑security focus. In June 2021, President Biden revoked Trump’s executive orders that attempted to ban TikTok and WeChat, but he replaced them with a new order directing the Commerce Department to systematically review and potentially restrict “connected software applications” tied to foreign adversaries. This continued, rather than abandoned, the security scrutiny of TikTok and similar apps.

  2. Federal device ban. On December 29, 2022, Biden signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act into law, which prohibits TikTok on all federal government devices (with narrow exceptions). That is an explicit, nationwide legal restriction on where TikTok can operate within the federal system, not “no restrictions.” (en.wikipedia.org)

  3. Divest‑or‑ban national law specifically targeting TikTok. On April 24, 2024, Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA). The law:

    • Explicitly designates TikTok/ByteDance as foreign‑adversary‑controlled applications.
    • Requires ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 19, 2025 or face a ban.
    • Prohibits app‑store distribution, hosting, maintenance, and updates for such apps in the U.S. unless a “qualified divestiture” occurs. These are substantial legal restrictions on TikTok’s operation in the United States. (en.wikipedia.org)

  4. Supreme Court and enforcement posture. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this law, confirming that the divest‑or‑ban regime is constitutional. The Biden administration chose not to personally carry out the final enforcement steps right before leaving office and instead left day‑to‑day enforcement timing to the incoming Trump administration, but the restrictive legal framework itself was crafted, signed, and defended by Biden’s team. (reuters.com)

Given that the Biden administration (a) signed a federal law banning TikTok on government devices and (b) signed and defended a statute that forces TikTok’s sale or a nationwide ban, the prediction that “there’ll be no restrictions on TikTok” and that the Trump‑era sanctions push would be “swept under the rug” is not borne out by events.

Therefore, the prediction is wrong.