Key information
- TikTok must sell its business in the United States or the app will be banned there.
- A potential TikTok ban in the United States looms, affecting 170 million American users.
- The fate of TikTok’s presence in the United States hangs in the balance as the deadline approaches.
On Friday, January 17, the United States Supreme Court upheld the law requiring TikTok to disassociate itself from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, failing which the application will be banned in the United States for 170 million American users from January 19 January. The court rejected TikTok’s free speech appeal in an unsigned ruling, with no dissent. The call for a ban was first raised in 2020, but gained momentum in 2023 when the Biden administration decided to ban the app on government devices. In March 2024, however, a bill was passed by the House of Representatives that would remove TikTok from U.S. app stores unless TikTok was sold to a U.S. company. This proposal was also approved by the Senate in April 2024. TikTok’s attempts to reverse this decision were rejected on December 6, 2024. The company appealed to the United States Supreme Court to end the ban, but she did not win her case.
As the deadline approaches, the TikTok community is very concerned about the impact of the ban on their work and income. From the moment the ban takes effect, TikTok will be removed from the app stores. US users who have already installed the app can continue to use TikTok for now, but there will be no more updates and the platform will no longer work. TikTok itself said it would redirect users to an information page about the ban and offer to download their data.
Context
Concerns about TikTok stem from its Chinese ownership. The United States considers China a hostile country and says it could spy on American users or manipulate their worldview through videos posted on the TikTok platform. Despite these claims, it is difficult to find concrete evidence of these activities.
President Biden had the option to temporarily postpone the ban by extending the deadline by 90 days, depending on a concrete plan to sell TikTok to a US company. However, ByteDance had previously indicated that TikTok was not for sale.
The upcoming presidential political change further complicates things. While Trump has expressed his intention to “save” TikTok, his second term begins the day after the ban. The situation remains uncertain, however, as it is possible that the new Trump administration will reverse the ban.
-“In the shadows”
The potential impact of the ban is unclear. During a hearing, ByteDance suggested that TikTok would operate “in the shadows” if the ban took effect. This could mean that TikTok would remain accessible to current users but disappear from Google and Apple’s app stores, putting a stop to new downloads and updates. While not immediately unusable, this scenario would gradually reduce TikTok’s appeal due to a lack of new content and user engagement.
Applications alternatives
Meanwhile, many TikTok creators are migrating to REDnote, another Chinese video-sharing platform. Reuters reports that REDnote gained 700,000 new users in just two days, with users using the hashtag #tiktokrefugee to document their transition.
Besides REDnote, other popular platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are also used and compete for TikTok users. These platforms offer similar features, such as short videos and quick interaction, and are attractive alternatives for content creators looking to branch out or prepare for a possible TikTok ban.
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