By Nathaniel Smith, Editor
The overwhelmingly successful social media phenomenon TikTok took the world by storm when the platform launched in September of 2016, and it became the most downloaded app in the United States by 2018. To date, TikTok has more than 1.5 billion active monthly users globally, and 170 million users within the United States. To put that into perspective, that is over half of the U.S. population. However, it seems as though that is all about to change.
As of today, Friday, January 17, the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal law signed by President Biden to ban the video-sharing social media giant if it is not sold by the China-based parent company, ByteDance. This is set to take effect this Sunday, January 19 with no sale appearing to be in sight. The question you may be wondering is, “why?”
Since TikTok is owned and operated by ByteDance, there have been many conversations revolving around the collection of sensitive user data. United States officials are becoming increasingly concerned that the Chinese Communist Party is utilizing TikTok as a means of spying and gathering information on their adversaries – namely the United States.
While it is unclear if this is occurring, it is not unlikely. There indeed is cause for concern in regard to national security. However, do the American people hold the same consensus? Not entirely.
According to Pew Research Center, support for banning the app within the United States stood at 50% in March of 2023. As of August 2024, the most recent poll conducted, that figure fell to a mere 32%. With the majority in opposition to or unsure of the ban, it is hard to say what the reaction will be in the event that this law goes into effect.
“TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She also noted that the Biden administration will not be enforcing this ban, but will instead leave it to the discretion of the incoming Trump administration.
Interestingly, President-elect Trump is dissenting from his Republican and Democrat colleagues alike. He claims he would have been able to negotiate some form of compromise and vows to keep TikTok in the U.S. once he takes office, although it is unclear how he intends to accomplish this. This is a complete flip from 2020 when President Trump was also considering a ban in the interest of national security.
The unanimous Supreme Court decision was accompanied by an unsigned opinion:
“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,” the court said, adding that the law “does not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
Some small business owners turned to TikTok for the “TikTok Shop” that launched in September of 2023. This allowed small businesses and companies to massively increase their reach and sell their products to a vast ocean of people all across the world. For many small businesses, the TikTok Shop has been a complete game changer. However, a ban on the app could prove to be devastating.
“I’m very, very concerned about what’s going to happen over the next couple weeks,” said Desiree Hill, owner of family-run Crown’s Corner mechanic shop in Georgia. “And very scared about the decrease that I’m going to have in reaching customers. I’m worried I’m going to potentially lose my business in the next six months.”
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote today on X that ByteDance had plenty of time to sell the company, and the fact that they still have not sold speaks volumes.
“ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline. The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app,” said Senator Cotton. “The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments.”
It is unclear what the outcome of this will be, and it is even less clear what to think about it. Will the United States lose access to one of the biggest social media apps of all time, or will a last minute agreement be made? Is this an overreach by our government, or is it a necessary sacrifice in the name of security? Time will tell.