Donald Trump doesn’t want Facebook’s Zuckerberg to get richer as TikTok ban looms

Former US president Donald Trump believes imposing a ban on TikTok would make Facebook “bigger” as he termed Mark Zuckerberg’s social media platform the “enemy of the people” amid Congress looms for shutting down the popular China-based app.

Donald Trump did not favour the “unfair advantages” Facebook would reap as a result of a ban, which would make the Meta CEO more rich.

In 2020, the four-time indicted former president initiated to prohibit the use of TikTok during his time of presidency.

Legislators in the US Congress are considering carrying out measures that would cause Byte-Dance to sell TikTok by September 30. President Joe Biden also expressed his support for the bill vowing to sign it if passed.

The 77-year-old told NBC News Monday: “Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people.”

While talking about the security associated with the app, he said: “There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with the social media platform.”

“There are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” the Republican presidential forerunner added.

The intelligence community in the US raised concerns about the platforms used against democracy and the country’s leadership.

In a report released Monday, regarding threats to US national security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence wrote that TikTok accounts from the Chinese government’s propaganda arm “reportedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the US midterm election cycle in 2022.”

The indictment-stricken Trump said that he agreed regarding TikTok as a national security threat, however, Facebook was also a threat to the US government.”

“I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” Trump stated.

After the criticism, Meta’s shares plunged over 4% in a day when stocks were generally steady.

Trump — who is leading the approval rating against Joe Biden — provided an overview regarding the social media platforms as the presidential elections are nearing in November.

TikTok had been under fire with authorities in the US banning the app if it did not sell stakes for security concerns.

The officials in the US at that time feared the takeover of ByteDance by the Chinese government.

The executives of TikTok have repeatedly denied sharing the information with Beijing, maintaining that they would not do so if asked.

Trump himself signed a presidential order to sell off TikTok within 90 days, however, it was marred by legal challenges.