The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, effectively banning the social network in the country starting Sunday, January 19. The New York Times reported that this decision was unanimous, 9-0.
The decision means that U.S. operations for the popular app must shut down this weekend to comply with a 2024 law that President Biden signed that forced the Chinese-based network from operating in the States.
The Court notes: “Congress has determined that divestiture (of TikTok) is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Last year, the Court heard from a TikTok lawyer who explained why the government shouldn’t be allowed to shut down the service. At the time, it seemed like most justices felt compelled to side with the government. A unanimous decision was unexpected.
Previously, NBC News reported that President Biden was exploring ways to keep TikTok online despite the ban, or at least delay the closure. Administration officials said that “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday. With the Supreme Court’s decision, the ball is firmly in Biden’s hands. The law allows the president to enact a 90-day extension of the ban’s deadline.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA – 2024) grants the President of the United States the authority to ban applications that pose national security risks, specifically targeting TikTok. When this law was signed last spring, it received broad bipartisan support. However, since then, some have questioned the law and are exploring ways to delay or save TikTok in the U.S.
One potential solution to circumvent the ban would be for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the company to an American entity. So far, no deal has been reached to facilitate this.
If Biden were to prevent the ban from taking effect on Sunday, it would then fall to President-elect Donald J. Trump, who takes office on Monday, to decide how to proceed. Trump has indicated a willingness to halt the ban in order to review all potential options.
Without an extension or sale, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. There are some potential ways around this, such as using a VPN to bypass the TikTok ban, and several TikTok alternatives have already sprung up, the most popular of which is RedNote.
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
TikTok faces outright ban in first U.S. state
TikTok received more bad news on Wednesday after Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R) signed into law a bill banning the popular app from January 1, 2024.
While more than half of U.S. states have already issued TikTok bans on government-issued devices, Montana’s action against the Chinese-owned app is significant as it’s the first state to impose a total ban on the app.
Read more
Former ByteDance exec claims China had access to TikTok data
TikTok is feeling the heat again after a former leading executive at its parent company, Byte Dance, made a series of damning claims in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed recently in the San Francisco Superior Court
Among the allegations made by Yintao Yu was that the Chinese Community Party (CCP) “maintained supreme access” to TikTok data stored in the U.S. when he worked for the company between 2017 and 2018.
Read more
Is TikTok getting banned? Here’s every country that’s blocked the app
TikTok has been making headlines as of late, but not for reasons pertaining to the content on the app. Instead, several governments across the globe have been looking into the app’s origins and even calling for bans in some cases. Currently, TikTok is in something of a state of limbo in a lot of regions as different governments work on creating litigation and inspecting its roots. Recently, the U.S. held a congressional hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over privacy and security concerns — causing many citizens to wonder if the app will be banned as many representatives are calling for.
Here’s what you need to know about every country in the world that’s banned the app, introduced restrictions for it, or is currently considering one of the two.
Read more