What’s next after the Supreme Court upholds the TikTok ban?
If you’ve been on TikTok in the last few days, you’ve no doubt witnessed your favorite creators saying goodbye and telling you where to find them next. With The impending congressional ban As for the social media app, which is set to come into force in the US on Sunday, there appears to be little action among the platform’s users. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the ban, citing congressional concerns about Chinese access to American user data — but that may not be the end of the story.
The Supreme Court upheld the TikTok ban
In one according to the court As published Friday morning, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the TikTok ban, which will remove the platform from app stores starting Sunday, January 19th. The move represents the biggest setback yet to hopes that the app could continue to function as usual, but the court acknowledged that “TikTok provides a distinctive and wide-ranging opportunity for expression” for “more than 170 million Americans,” and ultimately decided to support Congress’ “well-supported national security concerns.”
However, the statement offered a ray of hope for users fleeing to other apps. While the court acknowledged that TikTok represents “new technologies with transformative capabilities,” it cautioned that its ruling should be read “very narrowly” and should not serve as a precedent for future cases. The judges also argued that their reasoning was “content neutral,” seeking to address concerns that the real reason for the TikTok ban could be what users see, not how their data is handled.
Is TikTok shutting down?
Technically, the terms of the TikTok ban do not require the site to cease operations in the US, but rather prevent its app from being distributed through app stores. In this state, new users couldn’t download the app, while over time it slowly became unusable for everyone else. So overall, the loss of the platform would be a more gradual transition. However, TikTok is reportedly ready to take things a step further. threatened complete closure as a sort of nuclear option to protest the ban now that it has been upheld. (It also improved its alternative video app Lemon8although the TikTok ban would probably affect that platform too.)
The idea, it seems, is to take down the government. American users have already shown their willingness to use something similar Chinese app Xiaohongshu (or RedNote) as a replacement for the TikTok slash-act-of-protest, and TikTok users in particular have been quick to respond Close the ability to switch to Instagram Reels or American alternatives. By removing the app entirely from these users, TikTok could potentially encourage them to take political action (don’t be surprised if you’re prompted to call your representatives when you open the TikTok app on Sunday).
In principle, TikTok parent company Bytedance appears to be unwilling to sell to an American company, as the current ban would be the only way to continue operating TikTok. Overcoming the Supreme Court is a difficult task, but the company appears to be aiming to do just that by getting public opinion on its side.
In fact, there have already been some successes, as key administration officials across both aisles have already expressed a desire to back down on congressional legislation.
Biden is leaving enforcement of the ban to a TikTok-friendly Trump
Before the Supreme Court decision Reports was Share about whether Biden would take steps to circumvent the ban. Well, those White House has issued an official statement that it is leaving responsibility for enforcing the ban to new President Donald Trump.
“Given the sheer fact of timing,” the statement said, acknowledging the unusual position that implementing the ban puts in the Biden White House a day before he leaves office, “this administration recognizes that action to implement it of the law must simply be the responsibility of the next government.” “
The statement also reiterated Biden’s opinion that TikTok should remain available, but American-owned. However, by leaving responsibility for enforcing the ban to President Trump, this appears to give the new administration free rein to decide how the law will actually be implemented – it’s possible (though unlikely) that TikTok will launch on Sunday without this law retaliation could continue to be spread at all.
So perhaps it’s good news for TikTok users that President Trump has already done this vocally expressed his opposition to the banand reports suggest he is prepared to take action to stop it. The Washington Post says Trump is considering issuing an executive order that would delay enforcement of the ban by 60 to 90 days. Even if Biden had the blessing to decide what to do next, such an extreme measure might be Trump’s only game here, since the ban is legally scheduled to take effect a day before he takes office. Trump’s stance marks a similar shift in President Biden’s stance: During his first term, Trump signed a Implementing regulation This attempted to force TikTok to cease operations in the US, but the company avoided this Partnership with the US company Oracle to protect the data of American users.
One final bill to save TikTok (for now).
Realistically, the surest way to overturn the ban would be for the members of Congress who voted for it to change their minds. The biggest government setback we’ve seen to date on the TikTok ban – or at least the biggest one that isn’t based on hearsay and anonymous sources – would be a new bill from Democratic Senator Ed Markey. Markey’s bill, introduced this week, would have extended the ban deadline by 270 days, giving TikTok more time to find a buyer or giving lawmakers a chance to reassess the situation. Unfortunately it was like that was quickly struck down by Republican lawmakersbut the reasoning behind it shows that at least parts of Congress are faltering.
“In four days, TikTok will go dark,” Markey said when introducing the legislation. “My bill just says we need more time.”
As part of his justification for the bill, Markey said argued that TikTok is “central to our economy and the way we communicate,” and argues that the communities its creators and small businesses have created there “cannot be replicated on any other app.”
“We need time for a deeper conversation about how to address the national security risks posed by Bytedance’s ownership of TikTok,” Markey continued. “We need time to understand the impact of the ban on TikTok creators and users. We need time to think about alternative ideas.”
This bill also marked something of a change in stance from Markey, who initially opposed banning the platform but did so anyway voted for the current ban– although it should be noted that the ban was included in a bill that also included aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for his part, promised to do so in a post on X continue to “work to keep TikTok alive,” even in the face of Republican opposition.
Support for the ban remains
While politicians from both aisles and two branches of government have now talked about lifting or delaying the ban, some in government are sticking with their original decision.
“You had all the time in the world,” said Republican Senator Rick Scott. “They had the opportunity to sell it to make sure the Chinese government didn’t control it, and they chose not to do that.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who led the charge in blocking Markey’s bill, said: “We didn’t pull the rug out from under TikTok and we didn’t ban it. Instead, Congress simply demanded that the app no
For now, all eyes are on Trump, who takes office on Monday. It will be TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew present at his inaugurationand while Trump can do little to prevent the ban from taking effect on Sunday, we could see swift action as soon as a day later. As Trump told CNN shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, “Ultimately it’s up to me, so you’ll see what I’ll do.”
But even if legal pressure from the highest office in the land fails to bring back your favorite influencers, there’s also the question of public opinion. Depending on how TikTok responds to the Supreme Court’s decision, Americans could react very differently to the ban. With enough public fervor, it’s possible we’ll see further attempts by Congress or the presidency to prevent this saga from coming to an end.
Update 2:30 p.m. ET: This post has been updated with statements from the White House and President Trump.
