TikTok ban timeline: Is this the end of the revolutionary platform?

TikTok has been one of the most popular apps in the world for nearly five years. It has fundamentally changed the way millions of people consume content online, but all this attention has also (rightfully) attracted the attention of officials. In some countries, such as India, TikTok has been banned for years.

Now, things have finally come to a head, and the United States has passed a law Force TikTok to sell or shut down 2025 in the United States.

The main reason why the United States wants to ban TikTok is its relationship with China. TikTok is the global version of the Chinese platform Douyin, and the two share the same parent company, ByteDance.

U.S. lawmakers object to U.S. data being in the hands of Chinese companies. For a platform as popular as TikTok, the amount of data we’re talking about is astronomical. Since many of its users are minors, privacy issues are even more controversial.

Although the company’s strive to be transparentLawmakers are also concerned that TikTok could adjust its algorithms or provide data to the Chinese government upon request. More extreme elements in the U.S. government have taken these accusations a step further, claiming that the company is already under the direct control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Of course, there are other concerns besides national security. Many believe the app is spreading misinformation or is too addictive. TikTok, for its part, does have strict content moderation, like other social media platforms, and went a step further by allowing Oracle’s U.S. employees Review its algorithm and store U.S. customer information. So far, that doesn’t seem to be enough for U.S. lawmakers.

Another possible explanation is that TikTok is simply caught up in the ongoing trade war between China and the United States. We’ve seen hardware companies like this Huawei banned by USas well as large American social media apps like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) are banned in China. This will be another upgrade that will definitely have an impact in the near future.

While security and privacy are serious concerns, the big picture in the room is that all other social media platforms are already collecting and selling your data. Generally speaking, if an advertiser has access to the data, then wholesale purchases are also possible.

Even outside of big companies like Facebook and Google, there are small companies you’ve never even heard of Get data from your device and sell it to the highest bidder. In most cases, this includes governments around the world.

The data is anonymous, but it is simple to identify individual users based on their usage habits. In the absence of comprehensive privacy laws in the United States, there is nothing to stop this. Of course, this won’t score as many political points as banning TikTok, which is why many are calling this situation “security theater“.

As for national security issues, abusive algorithms and propaganda have permeated American social media platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). In fact, Russian propaganda is thriving on Elon Musk’s X, and the company has Platform in trouble with the EU. In other words, flipping TikTok off to a group of non-Chinese billionaires or investors doesn’t really solve anything.

While a forced sale of TikTok could ease concerns about China’s influence over Americans, it would also set a dangerous precedent. Should the United States become more like China, banning apps or forcing them into the hands of domestic owners? Is this really better than passing legislation requiring all social media companies, regardless of where they are headquartered, to adhere to higher privacy and security standards?

Efforts to ban TikTok in the United States have been steadily increasing since the app first became popular in 2020, and here is a brief timeline of the major events that have occurred over the past few years.

2020: Trump administration attempts to force sale

Soon after banned in indiathe Trump administration announced that “Considering banning” TikTok and other Chinese apps. That led to an FTC investigation, ostensibly into whether TikTok complied with a 2019 law protecting the data of children under 13.

Ultimately, President Trump Sign executive order In August 2020, the United States effectively banned TikTok and WeChat. First Microsoft expressed interest, then Oracle, but both deals ultimately fell through.

Just hours before the ban went into effect, federal judge rules It violates the First Amendment. While the ban never took effect, TikTok did Continue partnership with Oracle. Since then, U.S. data has been stored on Oracle servers, and TikTok’s physical footprint in the U.S. has grown significantly.

2022: TikTok gets proactive

Although no serious steps have been taken to ban TikTok in 2021 or 2022, TikTok is still working behind the scenes to protect its position in the United States. June 2022, Douyin announced All U.S. data is now stored on Oracle’s cloud servers. Oracle has also begun reviewing TikTok’s algorithms to ensure they are not manipulated by Chinese authorities.

These efforts are called Texas Plannamed after Oracle’s headquarters in Texas. The goal of the $1.5 billion program is to keep all U.S. data within the United States, held by a U.S. company and overseen by U.S. personnel.

TikTok hoped this would be enough to allay the U.S. government’s security concerns, but all it did was delay the inevitable.

2023: TikTok is under attack again

In early 2023, the Biden administration turned its attention to TikTok, banning the app from all federal devices and calling for tighter regulation. As part of a Senate hearing involving representatives from Meta, X and other social media companies, TikTok CEO Shou Zizhou was tortured Safety, privacy and child safety issues on TikTok.

Even though much of the hearing was little more than political grandstanding, the House committee still recommended banning the app. TikTok also claims the Biden administration has begun Putting pressure on the company’s Chinese owners “Give up your stake in the popular video app or risk facing a U.S. ban.”

Montana legislators take matters into their own hands, Passing a Statewide TikTok Ban The ban will take effect on January 1, 2024. Elsewhere, more states are beginning to ban the app on government-owned devices.

2024: Ban looms, but TikTok takes it to SCOTUS

After pressurization, House of Representatives passes a bill In March 2024, it forced ByteDance to sell its ownership of TikTok within 165 days or face a total ban in the United States. The bill still needs to be passed by the U.S. Senate to take effect, but President Biden has said he will sign it if it passes. Still, his campaign Still actively using TikTok Reach young voters.

The first bill stalled in the Senate and was never brought to a vote. However, another law will force ByteDance to divest within nine months, House of Representatives passed and later senate April 2024.

The new package has broader bipartisan support, and President Biden signed the bill into law shortly after. Currently, the ban will take effect on January 19, 2025.

As expected, TikTok sued the federal government over the ban, calling it unconstitutional. The challenge was rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, but in December last year, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would quickly hear TikTok’s case. Full arguments are scheduled to take place in court on January 10, just nine days before the ban takes effect. The two-hour hearing will only take place if TikTok has not been sold by the hearing date.

It looks like a solution is just weeks away. If TikTok’s lawsuit is unsuccessful, ByteDance will be forced to sell the app to another company or abandon the U.S. market. Both are equally incredible, so some tough choices have to be made.