What happens to TikTok under Trump?

Trump’s election victory just *might* bode well for TikTok based on his opinion of “Zuckerschmuck.”

11/8/24 2:12PM

One of the more interesting stories to watch as Trump prepares to reenter the Oval Office is the fate of TikTok in the United States.

In April, President Biden signed a law that would ban Chinese-owned TikTok unless the app were to be sold within nine months, with the possibility of a three-month extension to find a buyer. As it stands, TikTok’s deadline is January 19, 2025.

The reason for the ban, which received bipartisan support, is national security. US government officials are concerned that the Chinese government could access user data through the social video app, pointing to laws that allow the Chinese government to demand data from Chinese companies.

The US federal government isn’t the first group looking to limit or eliminate TikTok within its jurisdiction, either. India banned the app in 2020, the governments of the UK, Australia, Canada, the EU, France, New Zealand, and 30 US states have banned it from government devices, and the BBC advised staff to remove the app from their corporate phones, too.

Ironically, Biden wasn’t the first US president to attempt to ban TikTok. His predecessor (and successor), Donald Trump, attempted to ban TikTok on national-security concerns as well in August 2020, but he was ultimately overruled by a US judge that December.

You would think, given his prior attempt to ban the app, that Trump would gladly embrace this second opportunity to do so. However, Trump’s current stance on TikTok isn’t that straightforward.

In March, Trump flipped the script and spoke out against banning TikTok, posting on Truth Social, “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”

While Trump’s personal vendetta with Meta and Zuckerberg could have played a role in the reversal of his stance toward TikTok, another factor to watch is his connection to Republican mega-donor Jeff Yass.

Yass, a billionaire financier who founded Susquehanna International Group, has historically been an anti-Trump guy. In June 2023, he donated $10 million to the super PAC arm of Club for Growth, a pro-business, anti-tax organization that was looking for an alternative to Trump for the Republican nomination. Yass also donated $2.5 million directly to a state-level PAC supporting Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

However, in 2024, Yass’ political calculus began to change. In 2012, Susquehanna invested “a few million dollars” in ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, a stake that’s now worth an estimated $40 billion. That stake is now in jeopardy, and he would suffer a multibillion-dollar hit if a TikTok ban, or even forced divestment, were to materialize.

Biden’s TikTok ban happened to coincide with Trump retaking the Republican ticket, putting Yass and Trump on a collision course.

A week before Trump’s post about TikTok and Facebook, he met with Yass at a Club for Growth donor event in Florida, where Trump referred to Yass as “fantastic.” Trump later denied discussing TikTok with Yass, but Vanity Fair reported that Yass’ team had privately been lobbying Trump’s team to defend TikTok.

Had Biden been reelected or Harris won, a TikTok ban seemed all but inevitable, even as public support has faded for the ban. However, with Trump poised to return to the White House in January, TikTok might have a chance to stick around. Trump’s about-face, whether driven by his vendetta against Meta, his connection to Yass, or some combination of the two, has given the app some breathing room.

Max Knoblauch8h

Report: OpenAI won’t pay a dime in cash for its 3-year licensing deal for Disney IP

More financial details behind the landmark deal that will grant OpenAI three years of access to Disney intellectual property are coming out, and they’re pretty surprising.

The deal will reportedly see OpenAI pay zero dollars in licensing fees, instead compensating Disney in stock warrants. It was previously reported that Disney would invest $1 billion into OpenAI as part of the agreement.

It’s very abnormal for Disney to grant anyone access to its massive IP library without a cash payment, and the entertainment juggernaut has been known to strike down even crocheted Etsy Yodas for infringing on its turf. In its fiscal year 2025, Disney booked more than $10 billion in revenue from licensing fees across merchandising, television, and theatrical distribution.

OpenAI Deal to License Disney Characters Is Entirely in Stock

Max Knoblauch12/15/25

Ford says it will take $19.5 billion in charges in a massive EV write-down

The EV business has marked a long stretch of losing for Ford, and today the automaker announced it will take $19.5 billion in charges tied, for the most part, to its EV division.

Ford said it’s launching a battery energy storage business, leveraging battery plants in Kentucky and Michigan to “provide solutions for energy infrastructure and growing data center demand.”

According to Ford, the changes will drive Ford’s electrified division to profitability by 2029. The company will stop making its electric F-150, the Lightning, and instead shift to an “extended-range electric vehicle” that includes a gas-powered generator.

The Detroit automaker also raised its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes outlook to “about $7 billion” from a range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.

Ford’s write-down is one of the largest taken by a company as legacy automakers scale back on EVs, giving EV-only automakers a market share boost.

Max Knoblauch12/15/25

GM adds Apple Music to select new vehicles, racing to fill the gap left by CarPlay’s absence

Earlier this year, General Motors said it plans to end support for in-vehicle phone projection systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all of its vehicles (a big expansion of the move it announced for its EVs back in 2023).

Now, the automaker appears to be stocking its replacement system with native apps to fill the void. On Monday, GM announced it was rolling out Apple Music to select 2025 Chevrolet and Cadillac models.

Losing CarPlay is a sore subject for many drivers: 39% of respondents to an American Trucks survey this month said a lack of the system (or Android Auto) is a “deal-breaker” when it comes to buying a new vehicle.

Many automakers appear willing to risk alienating those potential customers in exchange for access to lucrative data. Others, including Tesla, are working to allow CarPlay to boost sagging sales, according to reporting by Bloomberg.