Trump calls Facebook 'enemy of the people', says TikTok ban will strengthen it

Former US president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Donald Trump said Monday that he fears that banning Chinese-owned social app TikTok would only serve to empower Facebook, which he labelled an “enemy of the people,” CNBC reported.

Talking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump said that “there’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad” with TikTok, but banning the platform could effectively help Facebook, which is owned by Meta, which is double the size of TikTok.

Trump said that he feels TikTok remains a national security risk, given its Chinese ownership — but he also deflected attention to Facebook, noting that the platform has similar issues concerning privacy and security.

“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people.”

On the contrary, incumbent President Joe Biden has said that he would sign a bill to ban the app, if Congress passes it.

Trump said: “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.

“If China wants anything from [TikTok], they will give it, so that’s a national security risk [that] goes up,” Trump acknowledged. “But when I look at it, I’m not looking to make Facebook double the size. And if you ban TikTok, Facebook and others — but mostly Facebook — will be a big beneficiary, and I think Facebook has been very busy.”

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