President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering options to “save TikTok” when he takes office on January 20 – just one day after the deadline for the popular social media platform to either sell to a U.S.-based company or face a ban.
The platform, used by more than 170 million people in the U.S. monthly, is preparing to go offline on Sunday, January 19 unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes or the app’s parent company, ByteDance strikes a deal to sell it.
But Trump – who once lobbied to ban the app – is considering an executive order that would prevent the law from being enforced, according to the Washington Post.
The incoming president has already asked the Supreme Court to pause the ban from taking effect so he can work out a deal when he returns to the White House. It is unclear when the court will rule in the case.
The ban derives from bipartisan legislation that was passed out of national security concerns due to ByteDance’s proximity to the Chinese government.
Key Points
- What will happen when TikTok ban goes into effect?
- How TikTok became the world’s most controversial app
- Where did the ban come from – and will it stand?
- TikTok responds to reports it could be sold to Elon Musk
- Could Mr Beast buy TikTok?
Looking back at Congress’ attitude toward TikTok:
03:30
Vishwam Sankaran
Members of the House Energy and Commerce committee signaled their hostility towards TikTok and other Chinese companies on Thursday as the panel’s GOP majority accused the Los Angeles- and Singapore-based company of being un-American.
The attack was led by the committee’s Republican majority, empowered by their November takeover of the lower chamber and eager to capitalise on what little political momentum they have (thanks to a narrow defeat of the Democrats) with a new harder-than-ever line against China and its ruling Communist Party.
John Bowden reported:
Expert warns of potential risk in migrating to RedNote
02:56
Vishwam Sankaran
With many TikTok users in the US migrating to the Chinese social media platform RedNote, cybersecurity expert Adrianus Warmenhoven at NordVPN warned that this shift could come with “serious cybersecurity and privacy risks”.
“Like TikTok, RedNote is subject to Chinese data laws, which may grant government authorities access to user data without the privacy protections expected in the US,” Mr Warmenhoven said.
He said RedNote may also collect users’ personal data, including location and browsing activity and share this data with third-party service providers or government authorities.
“A major red flag is the app’s lack of transparency — its terms and conditions are mainly in Mandarin, leaving non-Chinese-speaking users unclear about what data is collected and how it’s used,” the cybersecurity expert said.
When will the Supreme Court rule on the TikTok ban?
01:00
Ariana Baio
The Supreme Court has until Sunday to rule in the TikTok ban case before the law takes effect and millions of U.S. users lose access to the popular social media platform but they can issue a decision at any given time.
The court signaled they plan to intervene in the case before the deadline – they’ve fast-tracked oral arguments and cited the deadline as a reason for this.
The court had allocated Wednesday morning to release opinions but this did not include TikTok. Because the case arrived on the court’s “emergency docket” – or cases that need to be decided quickly – the court can rule at any time, not just on allocated opinion days.
Trump considering executive order to ‘save’ TikTok: report
Wednesday 15 January 2025 23:00
Ariana Baio
President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order that would pause enforcement of the TikTok sale for 60 to 90 days when he returns to office, according to a recent Washington Post report.
Trump, who once advocated for the ban of TikTok, has promised to “save” it from being taken off U.S. app and web servers which would essentially render it unusable.
Assuming the Supreme Court rules that the ban is constitutional, Trump could take office the day after the ban is enacted and issue the executive order reversing it. Two people familiar with the deliberations told The Post.
However, it is unclear if the executive order could bypass the Congress-approved legislation. Most likely, he would face legal challenges.
TikTok would “go dark” on Sunday if the Supreme Court does not intervene, the platform said, according to reports.
Where is TikTok banned in the world?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 22:00
Ariana Baio, Anthony Cuthbertson
Several other regions and countries have enacted partial bans on government or military devices, including the UK, EU, Canada and Australia.
It comes four years after India issued a total ban on the China-owned app, with Iran, Senegal, Nepal, Afghanistan and Somalia also preventing their citizens from using the app. The app is also unavailable in China, meaning more than 3 billion people around the world are unable to access TikTok.
What are the national security risks that TikTok poses
Wednesday 15 January 2025 21:30
Ariana Baio
The government argues that TikTok poses a threat to U.S. national security due to its proximity to the Chinese government – which is considered a foreign adversary.
TikTok itself is a company based in the U.S. but its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing. Under Chinese law, any Chinese company must establish an in-house Communist Party committee composed of party members.
That, is where the link between TikTok and the Chinese government lies.
In theory, if the Chinese government asked ByteDance to hand over data acquired by TikTok, the company would have to comply.
Why the previously unknown Chinese app RedNote has become the most popular in the world
Wednesday 15 January 2025 20:45
Josh Marcus
A Chinese short-form video app called Xiaohongshu is now the top free app in the Apple App Store, as social media users look to get out ahead of a potential US TikTok ban set to take effect on Sunday.
The app, known as RedNote in English, functions like a cross between Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, and boasts over 300 million monthly active users, considerably below the user base of TikTok.
Read more here:
U.S. TikTok operations could be worth billions
Wednesday 15 January 2025 20:15
Ariana Baio
Recent evaluations of TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese-based ByteDance, say it could be worth billions– a hefty price for any U.S. investor or company looking to purchase the platform.
The platform must sell to a U.S.-based company by Sunday or risk going dark.
Though ByteDance says no sale is imminent, several potential buyers’ names have floated around, including Elon Musk, Mr. Beast, Kevin O’Leary and others.
One estimation from the Center for Financial Research and Analysis said TikTok could be worth anywhere from $40 to $50 billion, according to CNBC. Another evaluation, from CB Insights, said ByteDance could be worth $222 billion on its own though it’s unclear how much TikTok would be worth in that estimation.
Trump’s attorney general pick declines to talk about TikTok at Senate hearing
Wednesday 15 January 2025 19:26
Ariana Baio
Pam Bondi, the attorney general nominee, declined to say whether or not she would uphold the legislation that bans TikTok from operating on U.S. servers during her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
“TikTok will be banned unless it is sold because it has become a tool for the Chinese to collect information and do surveillance and endanger our national security,” Senator Richard Blumenthal asked. “Can you commit you will enforce that law promptly and effectively.”
Bondi responded, saying she could not discuss “pending litigation” but said she would talk to the prosecutors handling the case. The case is currently in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court – not the Department of Justice which is the department Bondi would run if confirmed.
Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, refuses to answer whether or not she'll uphold the TikTok ban on day 1 during her Senate confirmation hearing. pic.twitter.com/4aVnSg9hEf
— Art Candee (@ArtCandee) January 15, 2025
Supreme Court slammed First Amendment defense by TikTok during oral arguments
Wednesday 15 January 2025 18:50
Ariana Baio
Lawyers for ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, went before the Supreme Court on Friday in a last-ditch effort to prevent the app from vanishing. The government passed a ban on the app, unless it is sold, citing national security concerns given TikTok’s ties to China’s communist party.
TikTok has argued that the app should be able to exist in the U.S. under free speech claims.
“Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral arguments. “They don’t care about the expression. That’s shown by the remedy. They’re not saying TikTok has to stop. They’re saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned lawyers and noted they kept referring to the so-called “shutting down” of the app. The Trump-appointed Justice stated TikTok didn’t have to close, just that it needed to find a new owner.
Fellow Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned the free speech issues and argued the country’s answer to problematic speech is counter-speech.
It wasn’t just conservative justices that attacked the TikTok arguments.
Newest, and Biden-appointed, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked: “I’m trying to understand what the burden is that you are articulating and really whether it’s about association and not speech...What you’re really complaining about is the inability to associate with ByteDance and its algorithm.”
Even Obama-appointed Justice Elena Kagan said ByteDance doesn’t have the same rights as everyday Americans.
“The law is only targeted at this foreign corporation, which doesn’t have First Amendment rights,” Kagan stated.
TikTok tells US employees they will still have a job
Wednesday 15 January 2025 18:10
Ariana Baio
Even if the Supreme Court upholds the law that would ban TikTok, the social media company said its U.S. employees would still have a job.
“Your employment, pay and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation hasn’t been resolved before the January 19 deadline,” Nicky Raghavan, TikTok’s global head of human resources, said in the message, obtained by The New York Times.
“The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the U.S. user experience,” Raghavan added.
The message indicates TikTok, owned by Chinese-based company ByteDance, is not planning on leaving the U.S. even if the app is banned on Sunday.
‘We are witnessing a moment’: RedNote users in China welcome TikTok refugees
Wednesday 15 January 2025 17:30
Andrew Griffin
Ahead of the ban, many users are trying out ‘Rednote’, a Chinese app that is filled with users and posts from the country. That has led to some strange and sometimes touching interactions between people from different sides of the world (in more than one sense).
Senator who passed TikTok ban wants to delay it
Wednesday 15 January 2025 17:02
Andrew Griffin
Ed Markey, the Massachusetts senator who helped support the original ban with the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”, now wants to delay it.
He has introduced a new bill, titled the “Extend the TikTok Deadline Act”, which would seek to do as it suggests, pushing back the deadline by 270 days. It wouldn’t stop the ban, but it says that pausing it is necessary to ensure that creators on the app know what’s going on.
“Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems,” he said in a statement. “Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior.
“But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.””
Could Mr Beast buy TikTok?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:49
Andrew Griffin
At first, it seemed like a joke (just like when he suggested he suggested he might run to be president).
Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
But now it’s sounding slightly less like a joke...
Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
What is Lemon8? The TikTok alternative gaining popularity that may also face a ban
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:32
Andrew Griffin
Some “TikTok refugees”, as some of those affected by the ban are slightly indulgently calling themselves, are headed to Lemon8, a similar app. But don’t get too attached: it could face a ban of its own.
When will TikTok ban go into effect?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:19
Andrew Griffin
A ban on the 19th, then an inauguration on the 20th. Here’s the timeline of the next few days, which could be make or break for TikTok.
Who wins from a TikTok ban?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:13
Andrew Griffin
Here is a great analysis, from tech analyst Gene Munster, of how Meta could win from a TikTok ban. Similar has already happened in some countries, such as India, where TikTok has been banned and its users have moved to Instagram Reels.
I think we're going to get a TikTok ruling from the Supreme Court in the next day.
— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) January 15, 2025
The bottom line: A ban could boost Meta's overall revenue by more than 5%, starting mid-year.
Here's the math:
• If TikTok is banned, $META will benefit meaningfully as users fill their TikTok…
How TikTok became the world’s most controversial app
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:10
Andrew Griffin
More than three billion people are already blocked from TikTok, which has faced scrutiny just about everywhere it operates.
Here’s a look at the numbers behind the ban – and the huge impact that it could have.
TikTok responds to reports it could be sold to Elon Musk
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:09
Andrew Griffin
“Pure fiction”, says parent company ByteDance. (It has also not given any indication it will be sold to anybody else, which is a requirement of the law.)
TikTok ban leads users to alternatives?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:08
Andrew Griffin
What are the other options, if you want a snacky short-form video app that isn’t facing a ban? Here’s a rundown of the alternatives.
Where did the ban come from – and will it stand?
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:07
Andrew Griffin
President Joe Biden last April signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell its US assets by 19 January, 2025, or face a nationwide ban.
Last week, the US Supreme Court seemed inclined to uphold the law, despite calls from President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers to extend the deadline.
Trump, whose inauguration comes the day after the law goes into effect, has said he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” of the issue.
TikTok and ByteDance have sought, at the very least, a delay in the implementation of the law, which they say violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.
TikTok said in a court filing last month it estimated one-third of the 170 million Americans using its app would stop accessing the platform if the ban lasted a month.
TikTok is preparing to shut itself down entirely, sources say
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:06
Andrew Griffin
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have the option to stay online for those users who already have the app. But reports suggest that they are preparing to be taken down entirely. Here’s the latest from Reuters:
TikTok plans to shut its app for US users from Sunday, when a federal ban on the social media app could come into effect, unless the Supreme Court moves to block it, people familiar with the matter said.
The outcome of the shutdown would be different from that mandated by the law. The law would mandate a ban only on new TikTokdownloads on Apple or Google app stores, while existing users could continue using it for some time.
Under TikTok‘s plan, people attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, the people said, requesting anonymity as the matter is not public.
The company also plans to give users an option to download all their data so that they can take a record of their personal information, they said.
Shutting down such services does not require longer planning, one of the sources said, noting that most operations have been continuing as usual as of this week. If the ban gets reversed later, TikTok would be able to restore service for U.S. users in a relatively short time, the source said.
Hello and welcome...
Wednesday 15 January 2025 16:05
Andrew Griffin
... to The Independent’s live coverage of the looming ban on TikTok, which appears set to go into effect on Sunday, 19 January.