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A federal appeals court ruled that a congressional ban on TikTok can go into effect in the next few weeks. That\u2019s if the incoming Trump administration doesn\u2019t decide to upend the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
TikTok debuted in the US in 2017 as a platform for short-form videos and became the most downloaded app in the world during the pandemic, a hub for creatives<\/a>, activists<\/a>, politicians<\/a>, and more. However, as its influence grew, so did concerns that the app, owned by a Chinese company, could endanger American interests. That led to a bipartisan effort to force it to cut its ties with China or ban it.<\/p>\n
The ban, which would drop TikTok from US app stores if its owner ByteDance does not divest by January 19, passed and was signed by President Joe Biden in April. TikTok and some of its content creators swiftly challenged the law in court, arguing that it violates the free speech rights of its more than 150 million<\/a> American users. The Department of Justice has countered that the app, given its connection to a foreign adversary, must be banned for national security reasons. On Friday, judges on the DC Circuit court sided with the DOJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n
How we got here<\/strong><\/h2>\nA TikTok ban has been in the works since the first Trump administration. Lawmakers have argued for years that the Chinese government is using the app to spy on Americans<\/a> by collecting their personal data and to spread propaganda that could be used to influence US elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Trump, ever the anti-China hawk, tried to ban the platform unilaterally via executive order<\/a> in 2020. But the order faced swift legal challenges that were never resolved before Biden came into office and rescinded it<\/a>, instead helping craft legislation to ban it. <\/p>\n
When the bill came before Congress in March, ByteDance urged its users to call their representatives in protest. Teens and older people alike reportedly pleaded with congressional staff, saying they spend all day on the app<\/a>. Creators posted on TikTok urging their followers to do the same. Some offices decided to temporarily shut down their phone lines<\/a> as a result, which meant that they couldn\u2019t field calls from their constituents about other issues either.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers in both parties didn\u2019t take kindly to the impromptu lobbying frenzy<\/a>. Some characterized it as confirmation of their fears that the Chinese-owned app \u2014 which was already banned on government devices<\/a> \u2014 is brainwashing America. The overrun phone lines were merely \u201cmaking the case\u201d for the bill, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n
When the bill passed, ByteDance refused to sell TikTok, despite the fact that the company likely could have found a US buyer. Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin<\/a> was among those publicly angling to purchase the app. <\/p>\n
Legal experts say Congress likely doesn\u2019t have the power to outright ban TikTok or any social media platform under the First Amendment unless it can prove that it poses legitimate and serious privacy and national security<\/a> concerns that can\u2019t be addressed by any other means. The question in the case before the DC Circuit is whether the government could have, in fact, addressed its national security concerns by other means and whether this ban actually does so. TikTok argues that the government could have found less restrictive ways to address its concerns and that the ban does not resolve them. <\/p>\n
The government\u2019s national security arguments in the lawsuit are redacted in legal filings. But reports have suggested that both the Chinese government and TikTok employees have abused the app\u2019s user data. A former employee of ByteDance has alleged in court that the government accessed user data<\/a> on a widespread basis for political purposes during the 2018 protests in Hong Kong. And last December, ByteDance acknowledged it had fired four employees who accessed the data of two journalists<\/a> while trying to track down an internal leaker.<\/p>\n
However, civil society groups have argued that a ban won\u2019t address concerns about data privacy. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology wrote in a letter to federal lawmakers<\/a> that the Chinese government can still access Americans\u2019 data in other ways. For instance, it could just as well buy Americans\u2019 data on a legitimate open market, where the sale of that data remains unrestricted.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the DC Circuit appeared to reject TikTok\u2019s points in its decision. In the majority opinion, Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote<\/a>, “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” <\/p>\n
What a Trump presidency means for the future of TikTok<\/strong><\/h2>\nDespite previously seeking to ban TikTok, Trump has since warmed to the platform, on which he now has 14.6 million followers<\/a>, and he has vowed to save it<\/a>. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what exactly brought about his reversal. He\u2019s said that banning TikTok would only benefit Meta, and he may be out for revenge against the company, which blocked him<\/a> from Instagram and Facebook for two years following the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,\u201d Trump told CNBC<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n
Another factor could be the influence of one of Trump\u2019s billionaire megadonors. Jeff Yass\u2019s investment firm Susquehanna reportedly<\/a> owns 15 percent of TikTok\u2019s parent company, a stake worth about $40 billion, according<\/a> to the Financial Times. As of May, Yass had contributed more<\/a> than any other individual donor to Republican candidates.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s not clear if Trump will keep his word to salvage TikTok given that he is surrounding himself with people who vehemently oppose the app. That includes his pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio<\/a>, and for Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr. Carr wrote in Project 2025<\/a> (the policy manifesto by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank) that TikTok is part of a Chinese \u201cforeign influence campaign by determining the news and information that the app feeds to millions of Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He might also be able to negotiate with Chinese officials to achieve a sale of TikTok to a US buyer in compliance with the law. James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NPR<\/a> that, based on his conversations with such officials, they may be more open to a sale if Trump backs down somewhat on his tariff threats against China.<\/p>\n
Despite previously seeking to ban TikTok, Trump has since warmed to the platform, on which he now has 14.6 million followers<\/a>, and he has vowed to save it<\/a>. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what exactly brought about his reversal. He\u2019s said that banning TikTok would only benefit Meta, and he may be out for revenge against the company, which blocked him<\/a> from Instagram and Facebook for two years following the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,\u201d Trump told CNBC<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n
Another factor could be the influence of one of Trump\u2019s billionaire megadonors. Jeff Yass\u2019s investment firm Susquehanna reportedly<\/a> owns 15 percent of TikTok\u2019s parent company, a stake worth about $40 billion, according<\/a> to the Financial Times. As of May, Yass had contributed more<\/a> than any other individual donor to Republican candidates.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s not clear if Trump will keep his word to salvage TikTok given that he is surrounding himself with people who vehemently oppose the app. That includes his pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio<\/a>, and for Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr. Carr wrote in Project 2025<\/a> (the policy manifesto by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank) that TikTok is part of a Chinese \u201cforeign influence campaign by determining the news and information that the app feeds to millions of Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He might also be able to negotiate with Chinese officials to achieve a sale of TikTok to a US buyer in compliance with the law. James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NPR<\/a> that, based on his conversations with such officials, they may be more open to a sale if Trump backs down somewhat on his tariff threats against China.<\/p>\n