Source: SOPA Images / Getty / TikTok
Welp, it’s not looking good for everyone’s favorite social media platform, TikTok. The Supreme Court upheld the law banning the app in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, couldn’t facilitate a sale.
The clock officially ran out after TikTok’s final attempt to continue operating in the United States. The Supreme Court delivered the death blow, upholding a lower court ruling that ByteDance must sell the app by January 19 due to national security concerns.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,”
an unsigned opinion from the justices read. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
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The ban would go into effect under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Controlled Applications Act that President Joe Biden signed.
TikTok’s future in the United States is in dire jeopardy due to no sale on the table that could save it from the ban, forcing social media influencers to find another platform to do their “influencing” to continue making a living.
TikTok’s Fate Is In The Hands of Donald Trump
The outgoing Biden administration is punting on the matter, leaving TikTok’s fate in the hands of the platform’s newest “fan,” President-elect Donald Trump, who
said to CNN, “It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do.”
“Given the sheer fact of timing, the administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” the Biden administration said.
“President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the president’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” the statement read by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said fresh off the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Trump also confirmed on his sh*tty platform Truth Social that he has spoken with China’s president Xi Jinping, claiming that he brought up TikTok during the conversation, whatever that means.
So What’s Going To Happen With TikTok?
When the ban officially begins, it will be up to the Google and Apple APP stores to enforce it and keep it from being available to users or face potential fines.
According to Deadline, the roughly 187 million Americans currently using the app will still have access to it, but they will not receive routine updates, rendering it a shell.
According to The Information, TikTok is prepared to go dark in the U.S. on Sunday, but the company could also “wait and see” what the Trump administration does.
Who Are The Potential Buyers?
During the previous nightmare that was Donald Trump’s first term, he was in favor of banning or forcing a sale of the app before his flip-flopping on the matter.
Deadline notes that he cannot stop the bipartisan legislation, but he could ask his incoming “Justice Department” not to enforce the ban.
There were rumors that China was considering Elon Musk’s potential purchase of TikTok. What could go wrong with this man owning another social media platform? TikTok has denied those claims.
Even Canadian Trump fan and
Shark Tank cast member Kevin O’Leary is part of a formal bid submitted by Frank McCourt-founded Internet advocacy group Project Liberty to potentially buy TikTok without its algorithm to allow the 170 American users to “preserve the platform’s vibrant community, while also giving 170 million American TikTokers the ability to control, protect, and benefit from their data.”
We shall see what happens with the platform, but it looks like it’s a wrap right now.
You can see reactions to the news in the gallery below.
