{"id":15198,"date":"2025-01-17T17:30:37","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=15198"},"modified":"2025-04-23T08:52:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T08:52:57","slug":"why-is-tiktok-getting-banned-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/why-is-tiktok-getting-banned-in-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is TikTok getting banned in the US?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Supreme Court has upheld a law targeting TikTok and its parent company ByteDance that will lead to the app being banned in the US from 19 January, but could President-Elect Trump save it when he is sworn into office on Monday, 20 January? We answer some pressing questions about the short video app<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Who or what is ByteDance?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ByteDance is a Chinese-owned tech giant founded in March 2012 by Zhang Yiming. Zhang Yiming is an entrepreneur who is now one of richest people in China due to the success of the company\u2019s portfolio of apps worldwide, including short-form video platforms TikTok and Douyin (TikTok\u2019s Chinese counterpart).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"launchpad<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Douyin was founded in 2016 and has built up a network of over 600 million daily active users. Meanwhile, TikTok was launched in the US in 2018 after it merged with lip-sync video platform Musical.ly, which ByteDance purchased for US $1 billion. Today, TikTok has an estimated 170 million users in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ByteDance also owns several popular apps within the domestic Chinese market, including Toutiao. Toutiao is a news aggregator platform powered by artificial intelligence, and has over 120 million daily active users. One of the earliest apps created by ByteDance was Neihan Dianzi, a platform that enabled users to share jokes through videos, memes or text, but which was subsequently shut down by Chinese authorities in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the Supreme Court’s decision mean for TikTok?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The US Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a law requiring TikTok\u2019s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app by 19 January 2025 or face a nationwide ban. The decision stems from national security concerns over data collection and potential foreign government influence. If ByteDance does not divest (which it has repeatedly stated it will not do), TikTok will be removed from Apple and Google app stores in the US, preventing new downloads and updates, which could eventually render the app unusable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House<\/a> has said that President Joe Biden will not enforce the ban during his remaining time in office, stating, \u201cTikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.\u201d As a result, the decision has been left to incoming President Donald Trump, who has said he plans to \u201csave\u201d the app (despite the ban first coming to the fore during his last term in office).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could TikTok be banned in the UK?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While other countries, including the UK, have expressed concerns about the security of user data when it comes to Chinese tech companies, it is unlikely ByteDance will face a ban like the one suggested in the US. TikTok has recently shown a willingness to cooperate with British authorities in addressing privacy concerns after inviting parliamentary committees to visit TikTok\u2019s offices to analyse its algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, it has been suggested that the bans on Chinese technology products were used as leverage during the run-up to the US election in a bid to gain favour among certain voters through extensive press coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to close relationships with both China and the US, the UK was put in a precarious position to act, although it is unlikely that the new president-elect will continue the politics of his predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will anything change once Trump is in power?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite Trump\u2019s animosity towards TikTok during his first term in office, he now seems likely to try and save TikTok. Earlier this week, the Financial Times<\/em> reported that Trump ally Elon Musk could be brought in to try and negotiate the sale of the platform. The most likely action for Trump would be to enact an Executive Order postponing the ban to allow more time for a potential buyer for TikTok (or alternative workaround) to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court has upheld a law targeting TikTok and its parent company ByteDance that will lead to the app being banned in the US from 19 January, but could President-Elect Trump save it when he is sworn into office on Monday, 20 January? We answer some pressing questions about the short video app Who or what is ByteDance? ByteDance is a Chinese-owned tech giant founded in March 2012 by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":15199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[2427,188,2051],"class_list":["post-15198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-paywall","tag-social-media","tag-tiktok"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy is TikTok getting banned in the US? - Focus - China Britain Business Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does the ban on TikTok mean for users in the US? Will Trump uphold the ban? 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