While the Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a ban on TikTok, President-elect Donald Trump seems to have different plans.
TikTok Ban
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the app is expected to be banned in the United States under the contingency that its parent company, ByteDance, does not follow a mandate to sell the app to a U.S.-based company, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
“On January 19th, as I understand it, we shut down,” TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco said in January hearing with the Supreme Court, per NPR.
What’s The Issue?
The potential TikTok ban is a result of concerns related to user data and the spreading of misinformation. However, TikTok, which has more than 170 million active users, argues this is in violation of the U.S. First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech.
“The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok previously said in a statement to ABC News. “The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the U.S. and around the world on Jan. 19, 2025.”
What Really Happens With TikTok On Jan. 19?
It was unclear how the ban would be carried out. Some predictions believe the application would still be available on U.S. phones that have already downloaded the app. However, with system updates it could result in the app no longer running properly. TikTok representatives stated they intend to shut down the application for users in the United States on Jan. 19.
President-elect Donald Trump On Saving TikTok
@realdonaldtrump No Tax on Tips!
Is there still hope for TikTok? Only time will tell. President-elect Donald Trump has been using the fate of TikTok as a part of his political strategy. On TikTok he shared a video with a caption that read “I’m gonna save TikTok.” The Washington Post notes that once Trump is inaugurated into office on Jan. 20, 2025, he is considering signing an executive order that would “suspend enforcement” of TikTok’s sale or ban for 60 to 90 days.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in December 2024, according to the outlet.
Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department, has weighed in on the matter and doesn’t have great faith in the executive order changing TikTok’s fate.
“[Executive orders] are not magical documents. They’re just press releases with nicer stationery,” Rozenshtein told The Washington Post. “TikTok will still be banned, and it will still be illegal for Apple and Google to do business with them. But it will make the president’s intention not to enforce the law that much more official.”
