Top Tech Reporter Mocks Lawmakers for Suddenly Changing Mind on TikTok Ban: 'China Has Called Our Bluff'

A top tech reporter mocked lawmakers for suddenly changing their minds regarding the TikTok ban in a last ditch effort to save the app.

In an appearance on CNN, journalist Kara Swisher noted that many lawmakers "were all for it until they were against it," in regards to the TikTok ban, which is set to go into effect Jan. 19 after the Supreme Court refused to block it.

"China has called our bluff and we've shown ourselves to be wimps," Swisher said on the outlet. "I mean, if they passed this thing and believed in it and were so vehement about it, what's happening now?"

Swisher added that if the Supreme Court decided to uphold the ban, it would then be up to Apple and Google to uphold the bans in their app stores. She noted that if they choose to go against the ban, "years from now they could be liable, presumably."

While TikTok's CEO is expected to attend Donald Trump's inauguration the day after the ban goes into effect, Swisher said that what CNN's Kaitlan Collins referred to as a "political lifeline" will not work as a new law will be required to override the current ban.

Once Trump assumes presidency, he could enact an executive order to delay the ban, but that will not save TikTok unless the app is sold or if a new law is passed.

"The fact of the matter is that this thing was never going to sell to a U.S. group because the algorithm doesn't go with it, and without the algorithm this is just a brand," Swisher told CNN.

"And so the question is 'Who won here?' and I think the only thing you can say definitively is the [Chinese Community Party]. Which does not control TikTok and they have maintained that it doesn't, but they certainly have influence, and it's an astonishing thing in this day and age to let a country have so much sway over our citizens," she continued.

If TikTok is banned from app stores on Jan. 19, there could be a chance that users could continue to use it in the U.S. if TikTok keeps it operational, however unconfirmed reports prior to the Supreme Court's decision have said that the app's parent company ByteDance planned to shut it down if the ban was not blocked.