It was TikTok’s last resort: The social network’s petition was rejected by the US Supreme Court, on Friday, January 17. Instead, the court opted to uphold a law providing for it to be banned from US territory as of Sunday, January 19. However, the next few days are still uncertain. If a potential buyer were to arrive by the end of the week, this would, according to the law, extend the deadline by three months, though this seems increasingly unlikely. Nevertheless, the application will not disappear overnight for American internet users. Here’s a look at some of the outstanding issues.
Can TikTok get around the ban?
Circumventing American law would be a dangerous game for the social media company. Even if TikTok were to move its offices abroad, maintaining its activities in the US could expose it to government prosecution. On the other hand, TikTok could, instead, cease them of its own accord, without waiting for the ban, in order to project the image of being a company that respects local laws. Judging by a message the company posted on its X account, on Saturday, this would seem to be its preferred course of action. In it, it denounced the lack of “clarity and guarantees” on the part of the Biden administration, which would allegedly be forcing it to shut down.
The company’s choice was made all the easier by the fact that the US is far from the social media platform’s only market: It also has a large number of users in countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico, as well as in many European countries. For example, between 2023 and 2024, TikTok claimed to have 134 million monthly users in the European Union and 325 million in Southeast Asia, compared with 170 million in the US. The company is not listed on the stock exchange and does not disclose its key economic information, but, according to the Financial Timesthe US would account for less than 15% of its global revenue. Moreover, Beijing would greatly benefit from being able to condemn the censorship of TikTok within its main adversary’s territory.
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