TikTok has exhausted all its appeals. The Supreme Court of the United States, its last chance, validated the ban on the application, which risks disappearing across the Atlantic on January 19, 2025. A sale of TikTok could change the situation, while the position of Donald Trump on the subject is being scrutinized very closely.
The Supreme Court of the United States confirmed this Friday, January 17, the validity of a law banning TikTok in the United States. Adopted by Congress with an overwhelming majority in 2024 and ratified by Democratic President Joe Biden, it was obviously contested by Bytedance, the company that owns TikTok.
But the Supreme Court did not rule in favor of the Chinese company. She ruled that the law did not violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects freedom of expression. It also validated the fact that the application constitutes “national security risks”. The decision was made unanimously by the nine judges.
Donald Trump will have to decide
“The scale of TikTok and its propensity to be controlled by a rival foreign power, as well as the vast volumes of sensitive data that the platform collects, warrants differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns”the Supreme Court published in an opinion.
The law must therefore come into force as of this Sunday January 19, 2025. The only possibility that TikTok would not be banned in the United States by that date would be if the American arm of the app was sold to a non-Chinese player by then, which seems completely unlikely at this point.
The inauguration of Donald Trump is scheduled for Monday, January 20, 2025, the day after the start of the application of the law. Will the new president intervene in this matter once in power? “The Supreme Court’s decision was expected and everyone must respect it. My decision regarding TikTok will be made in the near future, but I need time to review the situation”he reacted.
He also specified that he had discussed the issue with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on January 17, 2025. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next Monday. The next president of the United States recently supported TikTok and criticized its banarguing that the app allowed it to reach a young audience during the last elections. But in Congress, his Republican allies voted in favor of the law.
-TikTok will stop working overnight?
“TikTok should remain accessible to Americans, but simply under U.S. ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in crafting this law”commented Karine Jean-Pierre, spokesperson for the White House. She adds that given the timetable, it “must be the responsibility of the next government”that of Donald Trump therefore, to implement the law.
Because if TikTok will, unless the situation changes, be banned in the United States on January 19, 2025, the application of this ban is still very vague. In principle, Oracle will no longer be allowed to provide TikTok with its cloud infrastructure. Google and Apple should also remove app from Play Store and App Store. At this stage, it is difficult to estimate whether the use of a VPN will allow users to access the social network from the United States. If an American Google or Apple account is connected to the Android smartphone or iPhone in use, it is likely that TikTok remains inaccessible, even with a VPN, without having to tamper with your device.
If China is not keen on a sale of TikTok’s American business, it will potentially be forced to do so. Elon Musk would be interested in buying TikTok. If the operation goes to completion after having already acquired Twitter, renamed X, it would become the undisputed leader of Western social networks. Frank McCourt, known in France as the owner of Olympique de Marseille, would also be in the race. Its goal would be to change TikTok’s algorithm, which is nevertheless the strength of the platform.
In anticipation, many American users have started downloading l’application RedNotea competitor to TikTok, also Chinese, in order to replace their favorite app.
Source : Reuters
Related News :