With the government having security concerns and data privacy issues, there is the potential for a ban on TikTok in the United States. There are over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, with 170 million being located in the US.
The Supreme Court was in session Friday January 17, 2024, regarding the potential ban of TikTok in the United States within the coming week. By the conclusion of the session, the justices seemed inclined to allow the U.S. government to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the app or cease its operations. The federal ban on TikTok is set to take place on Sunday January 19, 2025.
A bill to ban TikTok in the United States passed both houses of Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, 2024.
TikTok being banned has been the talk for years, raising questions about data access laws. On March 13, 2024, the U.S. The House of Representatives passed a legislation that required ByteDance, a Chinese company to sell off the social media app or be banned from stores and websites in the U.S.
This law would ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t sell off its U.S. operation by January 19. Names of potential buyers have emerged, but there is no hint towards ByteDance wanting to sell.
The law also bans U.S. companies from providing services to authorize distribution, maintenance, or updating of TikTok. Although, if the app is downloaded prior to the ban, it will remain on people’s phones. Since the app would no longer be publicly available, new updates will no longer be delivered to users in the US, making the app buggy and later leaving the app as unstable.
In late December, Trump urged the court to put a hold on the January 19 deadline to give his incoming administration an opportunity to find a political resolution.
What could you turn to instead:
Instagram reels have been on the rise as it was established to compete with TikTok. Lemon8, another app owned by ByteDance, would have been a likely alternative for users after the ban. However, the law specifies that it also applies to other applications owned or operated by ByteDance. Due to this, Lemon8 is likely to face restrictions and may become inaccessible in the US as well.
For a non-ByteDance owned app, RedNote is a different option. RedNote is another app to turn to. The app’s focus on short-term content, similar to TikTok, has helped it emerge as a viable alternative. RedNote is also a Chinese owned platform, and could receive a potential ban as well in the future. Fanbase is another social media platform that people can turn to as it has similar features to TikTok and Instagram.
While the U.S. will potentially have to move-on from TikTok, there are plenty of options for people to scroll through short-videos.
