A US appeals court last Friday upheld the law challenged by TikTok, rejecting the platform’s argument that it was unconstitutional. This decision gives the court until Jan. 19 to determine whether TikTok will be banned if it fails to secure a US-based buyer. The ruling moves TikTok one step closer to a potential ban in the US. A TikTok spokesperson stated, “the TikTok ban was conceived and driven by inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, leading to outright censorship of the American people.”
Why it matters: Despite ongoing controversies, TikTok has undeniably made a significant impact in the US, shaping everything from the economy and e-commerce to technology, free speech, and even political discourse. If banned, the impact would ripple across personal users, businesses, and cultural spheres. The move could also prompt other Chinese tech companies to reassess their international expansion strategies, especially their plans to enter the US market.
Details:
- Polls show that support for a TikTok ban among Americans has steadily declined, dropping from 50% in March 2023 to 32% between July and August 2024, while opposition to the ban has gradually risen.
- Nonprofit organizations have spurned the House legislation as unconstitutional, arguing that it violates First Amendment protections that ensure TikTok users’ rights to access lawful information. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned Friday’s “flawed and dangerous” federal appeals court ruling that upheld the law banning the social media platform TikTok.
- President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to halt a potential US ban of TikTok next year, after he promised on the campaign trail to save the popular social media app if he won, despite being the first to call for the bill.
- While president-elect Donald Trump has promised to lift the ban, data shows that Republicans are generally more likely to support it, even though that support has waned. However, Trump’s promise remains uncertain.
- In recent years, China has implemented policies to regulate algorithm exports. In August 2020, around the same time the Trump administration demanded that ByteDance sell TikTok, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology revised export control regulations. The updates added “personalized information push services based on data analysis” to the list of technologies subject to export restrictions.
- TikTok is estimated to have 2.05 billion users globally as of 2024, with the United States serving as its second-largest market, home to 120.5 million users.
- TikTok Shop was officially introduced in September 2023 to allow users to purchase things within the app. According to CNBC, retailers and brands continue to invest in TikTok Shop even though the potential Jan. 19 ban grows nearer.
- TikTok’s main competitor in the US is Instagram’s Reels. If TikTok is banned, Reels is likely to see a significant surge in user adoption and engagement, as it would become one of the few remaining platforms offering similar short-form video content. Launched in 2020, Instagram reels now have over 2 billion monthly active users.
Context：In April, US President Joe Biden approved a bill requiring the platform to be sold to a new, non-Chinese owner or face prohibition in the US. TikTok filed a lawsuit in May to block the law, arguing that it infringed on the free speech rights of its more than 170 million American users and unfairly targeted the platform.
- India, once TikTok’s largest market outside China with 200 million users, banned the platform in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. As of 2024, India now leads in Reels users with 327 million, followed by the United States at 169 million.
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