TikTok Is Fighting for Its Life

TikTok might be “un-alived” in the United States. Last April, President Joe Biden signed a bill banning the first globally successful Chinese social-media app if its parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell its shares by January 19. However, TikTok is challenging the bill and set to present its case to the Supreme Court on January 10. You can watch it live beginning at 10 a.m. ET — you just can’t send any gifts through the screen. Below, what you need to know about how we got here and what’s going to happen to your emotional-support app.

Is TikTok shutting down?

As of now … well, yes! Biden signed the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law on April 24, which would officially ban TikTok on January 19, 2025, if ByteDance doesn’t sell the app in the U.S. But ByteDance says it has no intention of selling, despite fielding an offer from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, of all businesspeople.

Why is TikTok getting banned?

The government argues that the information collected from the app could be used by the Chinese government for “espionage or blackmail,” per CBS News, or to “advance its geopolitical interests” by “sowing discord and disinformation during a crisis.”

“In response to those grave national-security threats, Congress did not impose any restriction on speech, much less one based on viewpoint or content,” the Justice Department states. “Instead, Congress restricted only foreign adversary control: TikTok may continue operating in the United States and presenting the same content from the same users in the same manner if its current owner executes a divestiture that frees the platform from the [People’s Republic of China’s] control.” 

Can the Supreme Court save TikTok?

While TikTok live battles are still a confusing mystery to me (Why are people doing that weird tapping motion?), the app is essentially battling against the ban in front of the Supreme Court on Friday, January 10, at 10 a.m. ET. The public portion is available to watch on a livestream. TikTok’s lawyers will present arguments that the bill violates the First Amendment’s right to free speech against what the government claims are threats posed by the app. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” Michael Hughes, a spokesman for ByteDance, previously stated. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people.”

If the Supreme Court decides to officially hear the case out, the ban will be on pause until a decision is made. If it decides to leave it to the appeals court, it would be officially banned.

Can you still use TikTok if it’s banned?

If the law goes into effect, TikTok cannot be updated or downloaded from the App Store, but the app won’t suddenly disappear from all phones. Lawmakers wrote a letter on December 13 to Apple and Google, telling them to be ready to remove the app from their stores, per Reuters.

When will the ban begin?

If the Supreme Court upholds the ban, then it will begin on January 19. Get ready, Gen Z, you might have to start using (gasp) Instagram Reels.