The potential ban on TikTok in the U.S. left many of its users and influencers in a state of uncertainty for over four years, as various lawmakers and judges deliberated over the platform’s future. The tension culminated late Saturday when the platform ceased operations in response to a federal mandate.
By Sunday afternoon, TikTok announced that it had resumed services for American users following an announcement from President-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social account. He declared that he would issue an executive order that would allow additional time for TikTok’s parent company, based in China, to find an acceptable buyer prior to the full implementation of the ban.
The legitimacy of Trump’s ability to temporarily halt a law that received significant bipartisan support in Congress, a law which was also upheld unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, remains ambiguous. As Trump is expected to return to the Oval Office on Monday, he has acknowledged TikTok’s role in attracting younger voters during the previous year’s election.
In the legal case at hand, TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and dedicated users of the platform contended that the statute infringed upon the First Amendment rights. Conversely, the Biden administration aimed to establish that ByteDance’s ownership and governance of TikTok represented a considerable risk to national security.
The Global Phenomenon of TikTok
TikTok emerged from a pool of over 100 applications created in the last decade by the technology company ByteDance, which was established in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming and is based in the Haidian district of Beijing.
ByteDance first launched Douyin, a short-form video platform, in China in 2016, subsequently introducing an international version known as TikTok. The company later acquired Musical.ly, a popular lip-syncing application among teens in the U.S. and Europe, merging it with TikTok while keeping it separate from Douyin.
Almost immediately, TikTok surged in popularity across the U.S. and various other nations, marking a significant advancement as the first Chinese app to penetrate Western markets significantly. Unlike other social media platforms focused on fostering user connections, TikTok personalized content delivery based on individual interests, resulting in a vibrant atmosphere filled with entertaining videos. This environment contributed to career breakthroughs for musical talents like Lil Nas X.
The app gained even more traction during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as viral dance challenges became synonymous with its identity. In an effort to contend, Instagram and YouTube eventually launched their own short-form video features, known as Reels and Shorts, respectively. By then, TikTok had firmly established itself in the social media landscape.
Criticism and Challenges
However, alongside its meteoric rise, TikTok faced numerous challenges. U.S. authorities voiced concerns regarding the platform’s Chinese ownership and potential for data misuse, citing Chinese laws that could compel companies to submit data to the government. The algorithm influencing content visibility also raised eyebrows.
During Trump’s first presidential term, he attempted to ban TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat via executive orders in 2020, which were later blocked by the courts. Following a deadly military confrontation between India and China, India prohibited TikTok and other Chinese applications that same year.
The Biden administration chose to revoke Trump’s executive orders but maintained an investigation into TikTok’s national security implications led by a lesser-known agency called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS).
Negotiations regarding the app’s future in America reportedly took place between TikTok representatives and the Biden administration from January 2021 to August 2022. These discussions yielded a comprehensive 90-page draft security agreement presented to CFIUS, but substantive negotiations later stalled, though some meetings continued in the subsequent months.
Documents revealed that the draft agreement intended to permit security evaluations of TikTok’s U.S. operations and prevent access to American user data from China. TikTok stated it implemented several aspects of this agreement, including transitioning U.S. user data to servers operated by the tech company Oracle.
However, U.S. officials and the Department of Justice contended that the proposal failed to adequately separate TikTok’s operations from China. They pointed out that the opacity of TikTok’s algorithm, along with the platform’s complexity, hindered any effective oversight by either the U.S. government or Oracle.
In February 2023, the White House ordered the elimination of TikTok from government devices, mirroring similar actions taken by other nations. A month later, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, faced intense questioning from lawmakers during a lengthy hearing aimed at reassuring them of the platform’s commitment to user safety, despite its ties to China.
Lawmakers’ Scrutiny
According to court records, TikTok’s last meeting with CFIUS was held in September 2023. As the year progressed, criticism directed at the platform intensified among Republican lawmakers, who accused TikTok of amplifying pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel sentiments, allegations that the company firmly denied.
Early last year, Congressional efforts to ban TikTok resurfaced, amassing bipartisan backing from lawmakers concerned about the app’s potential to surveil and manipulate American citizens. The legislation, ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court, passed both the House and Senate in April after being included in a significant $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel which was promptly signed into law by President Biden. TikTok, along with its parent company and a coalition of content creators, quickly sought legal recourse.
A lower court upheld the statute in December, stipulating that ByteDance had nine months from the law’s enactment to divest TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if a sale was actively pursued. The approaching deadline coinciding with Trump’s inauguration posed a dilemma, as only the sitting president has the authority to issue a 90-day stay on the ban, contingent upon tangible steps toward a purchase by a prospective buyer.
As the situation unfolds, both the White House and the Department of Justice reiterated that the execution and enforcement of this law ultimately rest in Trump’s hands and his administration’s decisions.
