A ban on TikTok is less than a week away, and here’s what we know. Stay tuned for updates on the situation as it unfolds.
The Supreme Court spent two-and-a-half hours on Friday discussing whether TikTok can be banned in the U.S. in less than a week. By the end of the session, it seemed the justices were inclined to allow the government to either force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a shutdown.
Last spring, President Biden enacted legislation requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok or risk a ban, citing national security concerns. TikTok is seeking to delay the enforcement of this law, which is set for January 19, arguing that it infringes on First Amendment rights regarding free speech.
If the ban is implemented on Sunday, Apple and Google would be prohibited from allowing new users to download TikTok, although existing users could still access the app. However, both the government and TikTok acknowledge that the app would deteriorate over time, as companies would be unable to provide necessary support services.
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President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn into office on Jan. 20 – just one day after the ban could be implemented. In late December, Trump urged the court to put a hold on the Jan. 19 deadline to give his incoming administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
What will the SCOTUS decision determine?
If SCOTUS upholds the legislation, ByteDance will have until Sunday to divest the U.S. operation of TikTok.
During Friday’s hearing, Justice Samuel Alito asked if the court could temporarily block the law or administratively halt the law temporarily.
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, arguing for the Biden administration in defending the law, advised against a temporary block, unless TikTok was likely to win based on its First Amendment claim of a right to distribute its content. As for an administrative halt, Prelogar said she would defer to the justices on whether they have enough time to decide the case.
When will SCOTUS make its decision?
SCOTUS could release its decision at any time. The court does not need to release a decision by a specific date.
How would the TikTok ban affect users?
If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by Jan. 19, the platform will be banned in the United States. This means that it will become illegal for U.S. internet hosting services and app stores to distribute TikTok.
TikTok users who have the app downloaded on their mobile devices will still be able to access it, but they won’t be able to update the app, which could lead to it becoming unusable over time. Additionally, the TikTok website will no longer be accessible through U.S.-based internet hosting services.
Is there a way to bypass the TikTok ban?
While the specifics of how the ban will be enforced remain unclear, content creators are taking advantage of the time before January 19 to inform users about virtual private networks (VPNs). These tools enable users to mask their locations online. In theory, if someone uses a VPN to set their location to a country outside the U.S., they could potentially continue to access TikTok.
But there are a few instances in which VPNs wouldn’t work. Dan York, a senior advisor to the Internet Society, said popular VPNs could be blocked, and using an out-of-country location wouldn’t work. Additionally, using a VPN could result in slower or unreliable connections, he said.
York also advised users to do thorough research before using VPNs, as there are malicious companies that may want to take advantage of users looking to use one for the first time.
Are there any interested buyers?
Yes. Project Liberty, an organization led by billionaire Frank McCourt, announced last week that it made a formal offer to ByteDance to buy the U.S. assets of TikTok. Project Liberty’s President Tomicah Tillemann said in a statement that the organization would not publicly disclose the bid amount.
McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that Project Liberty had secured verbal commitments of up to $20 billion for the purchase. “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary announced last week that he was joining Project Liberty on the purchase plan.
If Project Liberty successfully purchased TikTok, it would only be the U.S. assets, which do not include the algorithm, as China finds it to be its intellectual property.
