The US’s proposed TikTok Ban could actually work

The Technicolor of the ByteDance Social Video App: How Trump Can Stop Trump from Running in the U.S.

The social video app, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and used by around 170 million Americans, has been appealing the ban since US president Joe Biden signed the law underpinning it last year. ByteDance must sell their US business to a non- Chinese company by January 19 or face the app being blocked in the US. Donald Trump, who retakes the White House on January 20, publicly originated the idea that ByteDance be forced to sell TikTok during his first presidential term but has since reversed course.

If the ban is allowed to go ahead, it will be an unprecedented technological crack down in the country, if Trump can’t stop it.

Anyone can uninstall TikTok on their phone. It does not say TikTok should stop working in the US. It tries to slow down TikTok by making it harder to use over time and by stopping companies from helping it to keep working and quickly loading videos.

At stake are the app’s estimated 170 million users in the U.S., the future of a multibillion-dollar social media wunderkind, and the clash of free expression in the digital age with the threat China poses to the nation’s security.

TikTok is Going to the Supreme Court to Challenge its U.S. Ban. Here’s What to Know: Trump’s Sensitivities to the First Amendment in the Context of the Second Amendment

There are possibilities for other middle-ground rulings. For instance, the Supreme Court could quibble with how the lower court reached its decision upholding the law and order the court to revise its opinion.

If the court overturns the law there is not much left for Trump to do. If the high court upholds the law, Trump can use his authority to stop the administration from obeying it or work on a deal.

Trump wrote a private brief for December while he was the president-elect. At the time, he did not hold any executive powers and he cited no legal authority in making his request.

The lower court ruling that upheld the law indicated that it had implications for the free expression protections of the First Amendment. But, in a twist, that opinion held that blocking China from potentially being able to censor Americans’ speech was upholding the spirit of the First Amendment.

President-elect Donald Trump made his TikTok position official recently by filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, calling on the justices to delay any ruling until he enters office and can help negotiate a solution. Trump is optimistic he can lean into his deal-making skills and cut an agreement that would lead to TikTok’s U.S. enterprise being purchased by an American company or group of investors.

Other creators on the app are urging TikTokers to double down on competing video services, like YouTube’s Shorts and Instagram’s Reels, as a hedge against TikTok cratering in the United States.

Source: TikTok is heading to the Supreme Court to challenge its U.S. ban. Here’s what to know

Chinese regulators need to approve the export of TikTok software if Beijing is willing to sell its tech monopoly or sell its technology

According to national security experts in touch with Chinese regulators, they appear to be warming up to this idea of horse trading.

China requires its government to approve the export of technology like TikTok’s algorithm, meaning any sale would need Beijing’s approval.