TikTok

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TikTok ban

TikTok recently lost its bid to strike down a law that could result in the platform being banned in the US starting on January 19, 2025. A US appeals court on Friday upheld the law that requires TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban, dealing a major blow to the social media platform that's used by more than 170 million Americans. Under the law, app stores could face major fines if they continue to host TikTok following the deadline if it's not sold. TikTok indicated that it plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. The ban could be delayed or avoided with support from Donald Trump after he takes office. President Biden could also technically grant a one-time, 90-day extension of the deadline, although he has not indicated that he will do so.

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TikTok ban

Donald Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club on Monday, hours after the president-elect suggested he might reverse course on the impending ban on the social media app in the US. "I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points and there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with it," Trump said on Monday. (Trump lost 18-29-year-old voters to Vice President Kamala Harris by 11 points, according to CNN's 2024 exit polls.) Nevertheless, the platform could be banned in the US on January 19 unless it can convince Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell it to a new, non-Chinese owner. Attorneys for TikTok are now asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block the ban.

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Prepping for no TikTok

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

In less than a month, TikTok could be banned in the U.S. — and the fate of a multibillion-dollar creator economy is at stake, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. Why it matters: The global influencer industry is worth about $250 billion, Goldman Sachs estimates. TikTok is where the big money is, and where many influencers have built their largest and most loyal followings. For many influencers, "this could be an extinction-level event," says James Nord, founder and CEO of Fohr, an influencer marketing company. ⚖️ Driving the news: The Supreme Court will hear arguments Jan. 10 over whether the law to force a sale of TikTok from its parent company or face a ban is constitutional, Axios' Maria Curi notes. TikTok is racing against the clock with a Jan. 19 ban looming. What we're watching: Lawmakers have told Google and Apple to be ready to remove TikTok from their U.S. app stores on Jan. 19. People who have already downloaded TikTok can keep using it for some time, but it will no longer update, making the app buggy and eventually useless. Zoom out: TikTok has a stunning 170 million users in the U.S., but according to a Pew Research Center survey, just 32% of Americans support a ban. But lawmakers and experts have identified national security reasons to restrict the app as long as it holds its connection to China, including the spread of misinformation and espionage. ? Zoom in: Some TikTok personalities are attempting to get ahead of the ban by asking followers to find them on Instagram or YouTube. "I don't think there's longevity on this app in the United States," Chris Burkett, a lifestyle influencer with 1.3 million TikTok followers, said in a video urging people to follow him on Instagram. "There's been so many false alarms ... Anyways, I very much do exist on another place ... so if you want to keep in touch," Audrey Peters, a fashion and beauty influencer with a million followers, said in a video. ? Reality check: Many influencers' Instagram or YouTube followings are orders of magnitude smaller than their TikTok audiences. Many don't even have large enough followings on those other platforms to get brand deals or make money from content. What's next: If TikTok is banned and eventually becomes obsolete, the influencers who relied on it for income likely won't get unemployment or other benefits. "This could be unique in that I don't know if there's been a law since prohibition that will shut down so many small businesses overnight," Nord says. "And as of now, the government is not offering any support."

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Gen Z spin

A TikTok account rewrites Bible stories in popular lingo to give the ancient word a modern twist. In this youthful version, God is the “top G” and the gospel is the “holy tea.” Some say it’s relatable, but others call it blasphemous.

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⚖️ Trump asks delay on TikTok ban

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

President-elect Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok unless it's sold by its Chinese parent company, Axios' Maria Curi reports. Why it matters: TikTok is racing the clock, with a Jan. 19 ban looming. What's inside: "Trump takes no position on the merits of the dispute," the amicus brief states. "Instead, he urges the Court to stay the statute's effective date to allow his incoming Administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government's national security concerns." Trump said SCOTUS should allow him the time to "resolve the dispute through political means." "Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution," the filing says. ? What's next: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10. Read the 25-page brief.

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TikTok ban

TikTok will make a final effort to argue its case before the Supreme Court today as it faces a looming ban in the US. The high court will hear more than two hours of arguments over whether a ban on the platform, approved in April with bipartisan support, can be squared with the First Amendment. If at least five justices believe that it can, TikTok would either need to find a new owner or shut down in the US on January 19. Many Democratic and Republican lawmakers are at odds over whether TikTok's ties to China threaten national security. On the other hand, the app's supporters say the importance of free speech outweighs "speculative" fears about data collection and content manipulation by a foreign adversary.

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A possible TikTok ban is just days away. A list of other apps available

With a possible TikTok ban just days away, many U.S. users are looking for alternative social media platforms to help them keep up with pop culture or provide the type of entertaining videos that popularized the short-form video app.

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-alternative-social-media-platforms-ban-49af1bfd2a1543a09b327544c380f217?

 

? TikTok braces for ban

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morale inside TikTok has fallen as employees wait to find out whether their app will still be legal in the U.S. after next week, The Verge reports. Executives sought to reassure employees yesterday in an internal memo, but weren't able to offer specifics — saying only that they're "planning for various scenarios and continuing to plan the way forward." "The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US user experience," the memo states. It says TikTok's offices will remain open "even if this situation hasn't been resolved." ? The latest: Chinese government officials are reportedly discussing the possibility of letting Elon Musk buy TikTok's U.S. operations. TikTok has denied that talks are happening ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent, has until Monday to either sell TikTok or face a ban in the U.S.

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TikTok ban

In just hours, the Supreme Court is expected to release its latest opinions, including one that might determine one of America's favorite apps. Without intervention from the nation's highest court, a ban on TikTok in the US could go into effect on Sunday — the last full day of President Joe Biden's administration. White House officials say they don't believe Biden has the authority to defer enforcement of a law he signed in April that required the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok to American ownership by January 19. Since the ban's timing comes at the end of Biden's term, the White House said it will be up to President-elect Donald Trump's administration to decide how to implement the ban.

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TikTok says it will ‘go dark’ unless it gets clarity from Biden following Supreme Court ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok said it will have to “go dark” this weekend unless the outgoing Biden administration assures the company it won’t enforce a shutdown of the popular app after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning the app unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-tiktok-china-security-speech-166f7c794ee587d3385190f893e52777?

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TikTok is Trump's problem now

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Years of debate, months of procrastination and weeks of panic have brought the U.S. to the brink of banning TikTok — a bipartisan achievement that top politicians suddenly want nothing to do with. Why it matters: On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Trump is facing an enormous challenge to his popularity, his executive power and his word. He has vowed to save TikTok — but failed to explain how he can do so without violating U.S. law, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. ⚡ The latest: Yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld the law passed by Congress last year that forces Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from TikTok by Sunday, or else face a ban in the U.S. The decision was unanimous, with all nine justices shrugging off a brief from Trump asking the court to delay the ban so that his administration could "pursue a negotiated resolution." President Biden, who signed the TikTok bill into law, won't enforce the ban — saying in a statement yesterday that "actions to implement the law simply must fall" to the Trump administration, given the timing. But TikTok said the app "will be forced to go dark" tomorrow, unless the Biden administration "immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement." Screenshot via Truth Social What to watch: Trump is considering an executive order delaying enforcement of the TikTok ban to give the administration time to find a U.S. buyer, despite ByteDance's refusal to sell for the past eight months. It's unclear how the executive order could bypass the letter of the law. App stores run by Google and Apple could face fines and liability risk if they ignore the Supreme Court's ruling. Still, Trump is trying: He discussed TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call Friday, and has invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to be a VIP at Monday's inauguration. ? The intrigue: One of the biggest obstacles to Trump's salvation mission is his own party. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chair of the Intelligence Committee, blocked Democrats' attempt to extend the deadline for the ban on Thursday. "Let me be crystal clear: there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok," Cotton said, echoing the hawkish language typical of most Republicans before Trump's change of heart.

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? TikTok goes dark

Screenshot via TikTok

TIkTok's 170 million users started receiving a "services temporarily unavailable" notice late last night as a law to ban the app was set to take effect at midnight. Why it matters: It's the first time the U.S. has banned a major online platform of this scale, Axios' Maria Curi and Sara Fischer report. ? What to watch: President-elect Trump could decide to extend the deadline by 90 days, but he'd have to show that legally binding negotiations for a sale of TikTok to U.S. owners are underway. "The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it's appropriate," Trump told NBC News' "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker yesterday. He said he'll "probably announce" any action on Monday. Trump could also issue an executive order or ask his attorney general not to enforce the law.

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TikTok restores service for US users based on Trump’s promised executive order

TikTok restored service to users in the United States on Sunday just hours after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban, which President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office.

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-trump-biden-china-bdc79b7ce741a81761f67ea56d410103?

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↩️ TikTok's back

Screenshot via TikTok TikTok restored service in the U.S. yesterday — less than 24 hours after going dark, and hours after President-elect Trump said he'll sign an executive order today to delay enforcing a U.S. ban of the platform, Axios' Avery Lotz reports. TikTok said it was resuming services because Trump's Truth Social post provided "the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans." ? Between the lines: When the app went back online, a message shown to every U.S. user said explicitly that "thanks to President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back," Axios' Felix Salmon notes. A statement by TikTok on Friday blamed the impending shutdown on the Biden administration's failure to provide "a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement." The bottom line: By briefly shutting down and blaming Biden, then starting up again and crediting Trump, TikTok has solidified its Trump friendliness. Photo: Erica Pandey/Axios ? Sign of the times: The crowd gets hyped when "TikTok IS BACK" is projected on the Jumbotron during the final minute of a Northwestern vs. Michigan game yesterday at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.   TikTok ban TikTok is back online after shutting itself down in the US over the weekend. Late Saturday night, TikTok became unusable for Americans who were met with a message saying the app was offline due to a ban — which the Supreme Court affirmed on Friday — and asking users to "stay tuned." Around 14 hours later, TikTok welcomed users back with a notification that said: "Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" Donald Trump has expressed confidence in TikTok's future and proposed a "joint venture" where the US could take "a 50% ownership position" in the app.

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? What's next for TikTok

TikTok's long-term future is still very much in limbo, despite the app's assertions that Trump has saved it.

• Trump signed an order yesterday delaying enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days.
• But he cited no legal authority to do so. And the law that bans TikTok only allows the president to delay enforcement to help facilitate an imminent sale, Reuters reports. No sale is imminent.
• He also seemed to suggest that the federal government might take partial ownership of the app, per Reuters.

⚖️ Between the lines: TikTok is still available and operating normally in the U.S., and a temporary pause might not run into any major obstacles.

• But the law requiring ByteDance to divest is still the law — passed with bipartisan majorities, signed by the president and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court.
• App stores and service providers are on the hook for penalties if they facilitate downloads of what is, technically, an illegal app. Trump being willing to look the other way may not be enough for them to stick with TikTok for the long haul.

? TikTok's inauguration party.

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Hot commodity

With no way for users to download TikTok, thousands of eBay sellers have listed phones with the app already installed. They’re hoping to capitalize on its disappearance from the Apple and Google Play stores following a brief ban.

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TikTok

Apple and Google have restored TikTok to their US app stores. This comes after President Trump signed an executive action last month delaying the enactment of a US ban on the wildly popular social media platform. TikTok shut down for roughly 14 hours in January but attributed its quick return to promises made by Trump to keep the app working. But its 175 million users still ran into at least one problem: TikTok was, as of that January weekend, unavailable on Apple and Google Play stores. Apple previously said it removed TikTok from the app store because of the ban, though the app remained available for customers who already downloaded it.

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? 1 TikTok thing: Ye olde lore

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios ? More social media users are sharing "lore drops": stories with juicy, dramatic or even traumatic information, Axios' April Rubin writes. The Old English "lore" was on the shortlist for Oxford University Press' 2024 word of the year. But it lost out to "brain rot," which ails the perpetually online. Creators leaned into TikTok's temporary doom last month with especially lore-filled videos, The Wall Street Journey reported today. ? Of course, the word trickles offline... Learning about an unheard-of ex from a friend's dating life? That's lore. A parent shares a monumental story from childhood? Also, lore. A co-worker, usually quiet about their personal life, reveals they have kids? Lore! Tell us your lore ...

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Poised to Take Over TikTok, Oracle Is Accused of Clamping Down on Pro-Palestine Dissent

Larry Ellison has been at Donald Trump’s side since he took office last month. The man Trump referred to as “one of the most serious players in the world” was front row at the inauguration, and then watched as the president signed an executive order on artificial intelligence — a major business interest for tech giant Oracle.

https://theintercept.com/2025/02/18/oracle-tiktok-israel-palestine-gaza/?

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⏱️ Tick tock, TikTok

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

TikTok has less than one month until its U.S. lifeline expires, but sources tell Axios' Dan Primack there still haven't been negotiations between its Chinese owner and prospective buyers. The law requiring parent company ByteDance to either divest or end TikTok's U.S. operations is still on the books, and President Trump's deadline extension is set to expire on April 5. ? What we're hearing: Suitors are increasingly frustrated by their inability to get under TikTok's hood — in terms of both finances and technology. There also has been some confusion as to who is actually in charge of Trump administration negotiations for the deal. And Beijing has remained publicly silent. ? Yes, but: Trump had no clear legal authority to give TikTok its first reprieve, so there's no reason to think he wouldn't extend the deadline further, or even indefinitely. His hand would be stronger, though, if at least a term sheet were submitted, since that could trigger a legal extension. Go deeper.

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TikTok smugglers: How migrants are sold an American dream in a digital world

Social media apps like TikTok have become an essential tool for smugglers and migrants alike. The videos posted by smugglers offer a rare look inside a long elusive industry and the narratives used by trafficking networks to fuel migration north. Read More.

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TikTok Deal Details

The White House yesterday outlined a preliminary deal to place TikTok’s US operations under American control, with some of the country’s largest tech and media companies at the helm. The move seeks to avert a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app over national security and privacy concerns. Under the proposal, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, would license its content recommendation algorithm to a US investor group that includes private equity firm Silver Lake and software giant Oracle. Oracle would also oversee platform security and the algorithm. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said Dell CEO Michael Dell and Fox Corporation leaders Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are likely involved in the deal, too. ByteDance would reportedly hold one seat on US TikTok’s seven-member board. Trump is expected this week to delay a TikTok ban for the fifth time as ByteDance and the US investors finalize the deal. See a timeline of TikTok’s US history here.

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TikTok’s algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok’s popular platform under the terms of a deal laid out Monday by President Donald Trump’s administration. Read more.

Key points: President Trump is expected to issue an executive order later this week that declares that the terms of the deal meet the security concerns laid out by the law, the senior White House official said. China still needs to sign off on the framework proposal, and any final deal would still require regulatory approval.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ A jury will look at whether Amazon tricked customers into joining Prime and made it hard to leave   Nvidia to invest $100 billion in OpenAI to help expand the ChatGPT maker’s computing power   Google faces antitrust déjà vu as US seeks to break up its digital advertising business

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? TikTok strikes deal to sell U.S. business

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

TikTok has signed a deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, Axios' Sara Fischer scooped last night. Why it matters: A deal would end a yearslong saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operation to domestic owners to address national security concerns. ? The agreement is set to close on Jan. 22, per an internal memo sent by CEO Shou Chew. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will collectively own 45% of the U.S. entity, which will be called "TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC." Nearly a third of the company will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, and some 20% will be retained by ByteDance. ? Between the lines: The U.S. joint venture will be responsible for American data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance, per the memo. It'll be responsible for "retraining the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data to ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation." The deal values TikTok U.S. at around $14 billion, a source confirmed to Axios. Read on.

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TikTok finalizes a deal to form a new American entity

TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the United States that has been in discussion for years on the platform now used by more than 200 million Americans.

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-deal-us-china-eccb46c3bfee4cf3d362a01fe4968a4f?

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? TikTok closes U.S. deal

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

TikTok yesterday closed a deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, the day before the Trump administration's executive order banning the app was set to kick in, Axios' Sara Fischer and Christine Wang report. Why it matters: The deal ends a yearslong saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation to domestic owners to alleviate national security concerns. State of play: With the deal, U.S. tech giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will collectively own 45% of the U.S. entity, which will be called "TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC." Nearly one-third of the company will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, some of which are American firms. Nearly 20% of the joint venture will be retained by ByteDance. New investors include Michael Dell's family office, New York-based investment firm Alpha Wave and Revolution, a D.C.-based venture capital firm co-founded by Steve Case and Ted Leonsis. Keep reading.