The Clock Stops for Tik Tok

Is Tik Tok getting banned? What's going on?

On April 25, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bill for a Tik Tok ban/sale agreement. The original bill proposed to ByteDance, a Chinese company, says that the company needs to sell its U.S. subsidiary or the app will be banned in the United States entirely. ByteDance has complained that this violates the first Amendment and will sue. 

Officials in the Biden administration have expressed concerns that China could potentially direct or influence ByteDance to suppress or boost TikTok content that are favorable to its interests. TikTok, for its part, has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government. 

TikTok has been banned on government devices for over a year now, so the ban/sale agreement has been anticipated for some time. TikTok is used by more than 170 million Americans and probably won’t disappear from your phone even if an eventual ban does take effect. ByteDance would have to remove it from the Apple Store and Google Play, which means that users won’t be able to download it anymore. This would also mean that TikTok wouldn’t be able to send updates, security patches and bug fixes to people’s phones, and over time, the app would likely become unusable, not to mention a security risk. According to Dean Ball Lawmakers, “The TikTok bill relies heavily on the control that Apple and Google maintain over their smartphone platforms because the bill’s primary mechanism is to direct Apple and Google to stop allowing the Tik Tok app on their respective app stores.” 

What will happen next? Some speculate that Google or Meta will take Tik Tok's place. Youtube Shorts and Instagram Reels have enjoyed popularity, so if you’re looking for a new place for short-form content, they – or a new app – might be the next big thing. ■