Unless there is a last minute turnaround, Tiktok will be banned in the United States on January 19. Consequences are to be expected for users.
What will happen on January 19, 2025, the date on which Tiktok should normally be banned on American territory? There are many unknowns, and even the social network owned by the Chinese Bytedance does not know more.
According to the law signed by Joe Biden, the application will be banned unless a takeover of Tiktok is completed by then – which seems very unlikely at this stage. The Chinese government, which is the only one able to validate such an action, has already rejected this possibility, even if Bloomberg specified that Elon Musk, who already owns X, was on file, alongside other interested personalities.
Users not illegal
However, in an internal memo obtained by The Verge, we realize that even the American branch of Tiktok does not really know how the ban will happen, if it is effective on Sunday.
The only real certainty is that it will immediately have to leave the application stores, including the iOS App store and the Android Play Store. A drama for American users and influencers, even if the law does not make it illegal to continue to use it or have it on your smartphone. It is unlikely that Apple or Google will use their right to remove the app directly from phones – a “privilege” reserved for applications that can lead to hacking.
In the Tiktok USA memo, the human resources department explains that the law does not impact the presence of the Tiktok company in the United States, which means that the American offices should not close and that salaries are guaranteed: “Only the user experience is concerned.”
And for good reason: from this Sunday, January 19, no American company will have to provide services to Tiktok, in particular regarding the hosting of videos or the technologies made available.
Accessing Tiktok will remain possible
American users have several solutions to continue browsing Tiktok. The first is that if they have the application, they will still benefit from their personalized stream, with perhaps some fluidity problems since the servers will no longer be based in the United States, but also the absence of patches .
The second is the use of a VPN, and therefore a foreign account on the App store to download the application and benefit from updates. The third is to go through the website, but it is not as fluid and complete as the application. Finally, the fourth concerns Android users who will always be able to download an APK file outside of the Play Store.
At this stage, there is no indication that American users will be blocked from registering. The law does not specify the need to prevent users from accessing the platform – it simply must leave the United States.
But for influencers, payments might no longer be possible.
There are many hypotheses, but they nevertheless come up against the possibility that Tiktok will ultimately not be banned on Sunday. Both the Supreme Court is looking into the matter, but also Donald Trump, who will take office on February 20 – the day after the application of the law – and who has indicated his intention to save the application.
The social network could therefore make a lightning round trip, and all worries would be a thing of the past in just a few hours.
Although owned by the Chinese Bytedance, Tiktok is run by a Singaporean, Shou Zi Chew, who has repeatedly brushed aside accusations from the American Congress accusing the application of sharing the data of American users with the Chinese power.
Note also that the ban only concerns the United States. The rest of the world, and in particular Europe, continues to have free access to the platform.