TikTok is widely expected to go dark on Sunday – leaving more than 170 million US users – many of them children – unable to access their favorite video-sharing app.
Here’s what you need to know about the impending ban and what comes next for TikTok.
When is TikTok banned?
The clock on TikTok ends on Sunday, and the company’s executives are said to be planning to shut down the app shortly after midnight. Users will be redirected to a web page with details about the congressional law and why the app went offline.
Why is TikTok shutting down?
Since TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance decided not to sell the app to an American buyer, as required by the divestment law signed by President Joe Biden in April, a Supreme Court intervention was their last hope to retain control . But the high court on Friday ruled against TikTok, forcing Google and App Stores to prevent further downloads of the app on Sunday.
Can I still use TikTok if I’ve already downloaded it?
If TikTok doesn’t pull the plug, then current users will still be able to use the app for a while, but it won’t receive any software updates or developer support and will gradually degrade until it’s unusable.
If TikTok chooses the nuclear option as widely expected, then the app will go offline for everyone on Sunday – even those who already have it on their phones.
Will President-elect Trump ‘save’ TikTok?
Trump, who once supported a ban, has vowed to find a political solution that will keep the app active in the US. He is said to be considering an executive order that would extend the sale deadline by 60 to 90 days while he works to secure a deal.
Will TikTok be sold?
That remains to be seen. Both TikTok and ByteDance have insisted the app is not for sale, while Chinese government officials have vowed to oppose any forced sales.
However, some American investors have shown interest in buying TikTok and rebuilding its recommendation algorithm from scratch on American soil to make sure it is safe. The list includes billionaire Frank McCourt and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, who are partners in a bid to buy the app.
Others said to have expressed interest at various points in recent months include former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
What does the law of Congress actually do?
The law passed by Congress last April required TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest its stake in the company by January 19 or face a total US ban. The law also allowed President Biden to extend the period by 90 days if there were signs of progress toward a deal, but that never happened.
What does ‘hold’ mean?
In that case, the Supreme Court rejected TikTok’s argument that the sales law was a violation of the First Amendment and instead sided with the Justice Department, which laid out the national security risks associated with Chinese ownership of the app. .
How is TikTok a security risk?
US lawmakers and the Justice Department said TikTok effectively functioned as a spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party. Critics allege that Chinese officials are able to covertly manipulate content through TikTok’s recommendation algorithm to influence public opinion and conduct mass data collection, such as location tracking, on US users.
Additional evidence included in the DOJ’s argument against TikTok remains redacted. TikTok has strongly denied wrongdoing.
“It’s farcical to suggest that with these two billion lines of code — 40 times the size of the entire Windows operating system, changed 1,000 times every day — that somehow we’re going to find out that they changed it,” the attorney for DOJ’s Daniel. Tenny said at a hearing in September.
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