Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban after issuing new ruling against the platform
US Supreme Court has voted in favor of upholding the TikTok ban which President Joe Biden signed in April last year
The ban that has been looming over TikTok has been confirmed as the US Supreme Court has voted to uphold ban.
The court voted today (January 17), that the social media app will not be available on either Google or Apple’s app stores from Sunday (January 19).
TikTok will not be available to download on the app store as of Sunday (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights,” justices wrote. TikToker arrested after allegedly spraying Walmart food with bug spray
Why is the US banning TikTok?
In April last year, the US Congress passed a bipartisan bill to prohibit TikTok unless it secures a new owner.
A date was later set of January 19, 2025, with the US Justice Department claiming TikTok poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ due to its parent company Byte Dance.
Byte Dance hails from China and the growing concern is that the state-run Chinese government could order the company to handover its data on the estimated 170 million American users it has registered.
What’s going to happen to TikTok after the ban?
Of course, ByteDance haven’t relinquished control of TikTok, so what could that mean for Sunday (January 19)?
If you’re in the US and haven’t got the app already on your phone, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to download it as it’ll be pulled from stores like Google and Apple under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
For those who have the app prior to the ban, it’s expected that it will eventually ‘go dark’.
Timothy Edgar, a professor of cybersecurity at Brown University, told CBS: “They will get a notice that says, ‘This service is not available in your country.’
News of the ban comes despite protests in Washington DC for the government to keep the social media app (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“That’s most likely what will happen based on what we’ve seen in other countries that have banned certain platforms.
“This generation may be in for a very rude awakening if the law goes into effect and they find a major social media platform that they came to rely on as creators, or just users, is suddenly not available.”
While Qi Liao, a professor of computer and network security at Central Michigan University, also weighed in and suggested that TikTok would eventually become ‘obsolete’ because, even if you can still access the app, you won’t be able to download any updates.
It comes despite President-elect Donald Trump having called on the Supreme Court to delay the ban while he worked on a ‘political resolution’.
It is understood that Trump has even invited TikTok CEO Shou Chew to attend his second presidential inauguration – which will take place on Monday (January 20).
Mr Beast has shared an update for his followers after declaring he would ‘buy TikTok’ to prevent it from being banned in the US.
Is TikTok really getting banned?
The Chinese company ByteDance has just four days left to sell TikTok or risk getting banned in the US due to allegations that the company is linked to the Chinese government.
Officials and lawmakers in the US have raised concerns that ByteDance has access to the data of approximately 170 million users in the US, putting that data at risk if China asks the company to hand it over.
ByteDance has been described as a ‘national security threat’ (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
In fact, the US Justice Department has claimed TikTok poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ due to its parent company.
As a result, President Joe Biden signed a law last year which demanded that ByteDance sell, or TikTok would be shut down in the US. The deadline to sell falls on 19 January – just one day before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the new president.
ByteDance has responded by claiming the law is ‘unconstitutional’, but they have ruled out the possibility of a sale.
What has MrBeast said about the ban?
As millions of TikTok users express concerns over the loss of TikTok, MrBeast shared what seemed to be a joke tweet about how he’d save it.
On January 14, he posted: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”
MrBeast seemed to be joking about buying TikTok (X/@MrBeast)
With a net worth of approximately $1 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth, the YouTuber has a better chance than most at being able to afford the app; but that doesn’t mean ByteDance would agree to a sale.
Still, MrBeast indicated he was keen to move forward with the idea, as he shared an update on Twitter a few hours after his first post.
He wrote: “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 claimed billionaires have reached out to him about the sale (X/@MrBeast)
MrBeast didn’t reveal exactly which billionaires are involved in this apparent venture, but fans were quick to joke about what the content creator might do with the app.
“‘I just bought TikTok and I’m giving it away to one lucky subscriber’,” one Twitter user joked, in reference to some of MrBeast’s viral challenges.
What will happen if TikTok isn’t sold?
If the January 19 deadline comes and goes with no sale and the ban goes into effect, TikTok will no longer be available to download for new users.
Those who already have the app would still be able to access it, however new updates would not be available, meaning the app would likely become unusable over time.
As the ban continues to loom, TikTok users are familiarizing themselves with a new app, RedNote; another short-form video app also from China
As the clock ticks down to TikTok’s final days in the US, a business litigator has warned Americans against trying to trick the system.
For those that don’t know, US Congress passed a bipartisan bill in April last year to prohibit TikTok from providing its services in America unless its parent company ByteDance, of China, relinquished control over it by January 19, 2025.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look likely that TikTok will be sold and so as of Sunday (January 19) the app will be gradually frozen out of society in the US, with it being taken off the app store and updates will cease.
It comes on President Joe Biden’s last day in office, with the US Justice Department claiming it poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ – due to concerns that the Chinese firm could be forced to hand over data of its approximate 170 million US users to the state.
So we now find ourselves in what could be the demise of TikTok in the US, and with it being by far the most popular app among teens and young adults in the nation, there will be people doing everything they can to find a workaround so they can continue to enjoy the app.
TikTok is just days away from its impending ban in the US (Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Although, the ban won’t mean that the app mysteriously vanishes from your phone, but as I mentioned earlier it will be frozen out.
With so much speculation over what will happen, business litigator Neil Elan, of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, has weighed in on the subject.
Risks of accessing TikTok illegally
Elan, who specializes in high-value intellectual property disputes, told Dexerto: If there is a law saying, ‘You can’t do this,’ and you do this by using a VPN to circumvent the law, then you are in violation of the law.
“There would be a penalty and punishment, likely fines. I wouldn’t recommend using a VPN to get around the law, although I do know that it is common. Whether the lawmakers turn a blind eye or whether it’s strictly enforced is a risk that the user will take.”
Yes, we may just have to say fair well to TikTok in the States (Getty stock)
He continued: “The main concern is national security. If a few people do it, then are large troves of US consumer data being accessed by the Chinese government? Unlikely. But if there’s a growing base that continues to use it with the VPN, and the government knows about it, and those concerns still bloom, then there could be penalties enforced.
“How this plays out remains to be seen. It depends on the law. It depends on whether it will be acquired, and it depends on who has the authority to enforce the law and how many users try to skirt the law by using a VPN, but certainly the use of a VPN to circumvent the law would potentially render the user to fines and penalties.”
So, what will happen to the TikTok app on your phone if it gets banned?
After January 19, if you’re in the US and haven’t got the app already on your phone it’s unlikely you’ll be able to download it as it’ll be pulled from stores like Google and Apple under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
For those who have the app prior to the ban, it’s expected that it will eventually ‘go dark’ as updates won’t be issued anymore – which will cause it to become buggy and unusable.
