If you’ve lost track of where the country’s TikTok saga stands, you’re not alone. Congress passed a law last year requiring the Chinese-owned platform to either be sold to an American company or face a U.S. ban. The Supreme Court upheld the law.
You’d think that would settle things. But instead of finality, we keep getting what feels like a series of rolling extensions from the White House — like a lease renewal that never actually requires moving out.
Here’s the logically cumbersome ongoing contradiction: If TikTok is truly a national security threat, why is the government stretching out the deadline while simultaneously launching new official accounts on the platform? Either it’s unsafe for 170 million Americans or it’s safe enough for the State Department’s social media team. You can’t have it both ways.
This isn’t just bureaucratic dithering. It’s the latest installment of what I call the “two-week theory,” perfected by President Trump. In his second term as president, Trump seems to love to tell the press “we’ll see what happens in the next two weeks.” It’s a great way to dodge a hard call, stall for time and hope that reality — or someone else — will rescue him from having to make an unpopular decision.
On paper, the law is simple: TikTok must sell or shut down. Courts have cleared the way. What remains is enforcement. But by continually extending deadlines, the administration has effectively created a shadow category of law: statutes that exist but don’t bite. That undermines not just this law but faith in the rule of law itself.
Imagine if Congress raised the debt ceiling but the Treasury secretary kept saying, “We’ll enforce it in two weeks.” Markets would panic. Or if EPA rules on toxic dumping were upheld by courts but the agency told polluters, “We’ll start enforcing eventually.” The legal system can’t operate on vibes and extensions.
The politics are messier. TikTok has become an unimaginably potent cultural force, particularly among younger voters. Politicians know banning it could be politically costly. Trump himself is now on TikTok, even as his administration argues for its divestiture. That contradiction is impossible to ignore.
But here’s the danger: Indecision isn’t neutral. The longer this limbo lasts, the more it signals that powerful companies can outwait U.S. law. Beijing notices. American tech firms notice. Voters notice too. Rule of law means rules apply — even when they’re unpopular, even when they risk political backlash.
If the government wants Americans to accept a ban or a forced sale, it owes us transparency. Declassify enough intelligence to show the national security concerns are real, not speculative. Outline the standards: what kinds of data flows or ownership structures, for instance, cross the line? Explain why this platform, and not others, triggers the alarm.
Otherwise, it looks like governance by press release. A law exists, the courts affirm it, but officials punt indefinitely without explaining why. That erodes the credibility of every future national security decision, whether on apps, AI or cyber defense.
Congress wrote the law. Now Congress needs to demand its enforcement — or amend it. Lawmakers should require clear public reporting from the executive branch on what steps are being taken to enforce the TikTok law. They also need to put limits on the use of deadline extensions: no more infinite “two-week” cycles. If Congress won’t enforce its own statutes, why should any company or citizen take its next statute seriously?
Trump’s “two-week theory” was always about kicking the can. But what we’re seeing now is that same logic baked into governance. By never closing the loop, leaders avoid hard choices but create harder problems down the road.
With TikTok, that problem is two-fold: it involves the credibility of U.S. law and the trust of American voters. You can’t run a country on permanent extensions. At some point, you have to make a decision and live with the consequences.
If TikTok is truly a threat, enforce the law and force a sale. If it isn’t, level with the American people and stop the theater. But don’t keep telling us to wait “two more weeks.” Democracy runs on decisions, not delays.
The longer Washington tries to govern by extension, the more it weakens both its laws and its legitimacy. And that’s a cost far greater than any app on your phone.
Aron Solomon is chief strategy officer for AMPLIFY and has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania.
