White House starts TikTok account as platform in US legal limbo

WASHINGTON (AFP) : The White House launched a TikTok account on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump continues to permit the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the United States despite a law requiring its sale.

“America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?” read a caption on the account’s first post on the popular video sharing app, a 27-second clip.

The account had about 4,500 followers an hour after posting the video. Trump’s personal account on TikTok meanwhile has 110.1 million followers, though his last post was on November 5, 2024 — Election Day.

TikTok is owned by China-based internet company ByteDance.

A federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.

In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.

That extension is due to expire in mid-September.

While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform — which boasts almost two billion global users — after coming to believe it helped him win young voters’ support in the November election.

Trump’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, has 108.5 million followers — though his favored social media outlet is Truth Social, which he owns, where he has 10.6 million followers.

The official White House accounts on X and Instagram have 2.4 million and 9.3 million followers, respectively.