US Election 2024

Republican state AGs await Trump-brokered TikTok deal, remain skeptical on app safety

January 27, 2025

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Republican state AGs await Trump-brokered TikTok deal, remain skeptical on app safety

President Donald Trump has hinted at a potential deal in the works to save TikTok from a ban, with the involvement of software company Oracle and a group of outside investors. The deal would see Oracle taking control of data management and software updates for the popular social media app, while ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, would maintain a stake in the platform.

Republican state attorneys general, who have been vocal about their concerns regarding TikTok’s security and data privacy issues, are keeping a close eye on the developments of this deal. Some, like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have taken legal action against TikTok in the past for allegedly lying about safety standards and concealing inappropriate material.

While some Republican state attorneys general are hopeful that Trump can strike a deal to protect the U.S. from potential threats posed by TikTok, others believe that if national security is at risk, the app should be banned altogether. Similarly, several Democratic state attorneys general have also taken legal action against TikTok, citing concerns about its impact on young users and deceptive practices.

Trump’s previous attempts to ban TikTok from U.S. access were met with resistance, but he has also acknowledged the app’s ability to reach young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign. After going dark earlier this month due to a legal battle over the divest-or-ban law, TikTok was reinstated for U.S. users following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

As discussions continue about the future of TikTok in the U.S., all eyes are on Trump and his administration to see if a deal can be reached to address the concerns raised by both Republican and Democratic state attorneys general. The fate of TikTok hangs in the balance as negotiations progress, with the potential for significant implications on national security and data privacy.

See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"