By Jacob Gershman and Sarah E. Needleman
The clock is ticking for TikTok. The Chinese-owned video-sharing platform used by nearly half the country could disappear from U.S. app stores later this month under a new security law. On Friday, TikTok will get the chance to argue its case before the Supreme Court, which is deciding whether the government can ban the platform if it doesn't sever ties with China.
With the app's fate hanging in the balance, here is a look at the case and the potential fallout.
What is the U.S. government's argument for banning TikTok?
The U.S. government has expressed alarm about China's control of TikTok for years, warning that Beijing could exploit the platform's vast amount of user data to conduct espionage and surveillance operations against the U.S. Officials say China could covertly manipulate what U.S. TikTok users see on the site to spread disinformation and propaganda against American interests.
In 2021, the Biden administration gave ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, a chance to negotiate a security deal. ByteDance promised to wall off U.S. user data from Chinese access and let a U.S. government-approved partner, Texas-based Oracle, perform source-code reviews to guard against Chinese manipulation of its content-recommending algorithm. But its guarantee of a firewall failed to assuage U.S. officials.
Last spring, Congress received classified briefings about TikTok and passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act with bipartisan support. The law, while known as the TikTok ban, didn't outright ban the app. To keep operating, ByteDance was given until Jan. 19 to divest itself of TikTok. The company said it can't and won't shed the platform. Instead, TikTok and a group of content creators challenged the ban in court in a pair of cases.
TikTok argues the ban violates the First Amendment right to free speech. How?
TikTok has tried to turn the case into a free-speech fight. It argues that its curation of content is an expressive activity protected by the First Amendment. In addition, the company says the U.S. government's security concerns are too vague and hypothetical to justify an infringement of its rights. TikTok has pointed to court cases supporting the right of Americans to share foreign propaganda. A unanimous federal appeals court upheld the ban last month, prompting TikTok to take its case to the Supreme Court.
If TikTok is banned on Jan. 19, what happens next?
The new law doesn't prohibit the use of TikTok, but it requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores by that date. People who don't already have TikTok on their phone or tablet won't be able to download it from there. The law also bars U.S. internet hosting services and data-storage providers from supporting the app. Companies that defy the ban could face civil penalties that have the potential to reach billions of dollars.
While the social-media app won't suddenly vanish from Americans' phones and tablets, experts in legal compliance and mobile-app technology say TikTok could still be usable in the short term and envision it dying a slow death with progressively eroding functionality.
That is because TikTok is destined to degrade in quality once it leaves Apple and Google's app stores, as ByteDance won't be able to deploy software updates. Such updates are necessary for fixing bugs, patching missed security holes and taking into account any changes that Apple and Google make to their mobile operating systems.
Can I still get into TikTok if it is banned in the U.S.?
There are workarounds, but they are limited. One of the easiest is for U.S. users to access the TikTok website from their mobile devices via a web browser like Safari. But that experience provides only a stripped-down version of the video-sharing mobile app.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, are another potential option, since they can make it seem as if a user is in a country where TikTok isn't banned. Such services usually charge a small monthly fee for access to remote servers. VPNs let you route your traffic through one of those servers, preventing your internet service provider from seeing what apps you use, or any data you send and receive. Many VPNs for mobile devices are available via app stores.
If you have an Android device, you might be able to download TikTok -- and even get software updates for it -- by circumventing the Google Play Store, a tactic known as sideloading. This is a complex, multistep process and third-party app stores might not provide the protections against potential dangers such as malware.
Will President-elect Donald Trump save TikTok?
The last time Donald Trump was president, he tried and failed to shut down TikTok. The courts blocked his executive actions.
Now the president-elect has indicated he wants to come to the app's rescue. Trump, who asked the Supreme Court to delay the ban, says he is worried about its impact on TikTok users and the potential to set a dangerous precedent for internet regulation.
Trump says he needs more time to negotiate a resolution that would save the platform while addressing the security concerns. If the Supreme Court lets the ban take effect on schedule, Trump's options are limited. He could refuse to enforce the ban or push Congress to eliminate it through new legislation. Even with Trump's assurances, it would still be risky for Google and Apple to restore TikTok if the law is still on the books. The ban's broad support in Congress also tilts against a legislative way out.
Some legal scholars say the Trump administration could lift the ban without going through Congress if his administration determines the site is no longer under Chinese control.
Have other countries banned TikTok?
The U.S. would be the first Western liberal democracy to ban TikTok but not the first country. Around a dozen countries block the site, a list that includes India and authoritarian regimes such as Iran and Afghanistan that heavily censor the internet. In Europe, Albania's prime minister recently imposed a one-year shutdown of TikTok. It is also restricted in China, which has a TikTok-like site called Douyin that is subject to Chinese censorship laws. Numerous NATO and European Union countries have restrictions prohibiting TikTok on government work devices.
-- This explanatory article may be periodically updated.
Write to Jacob Gershman at jacob.gershman@wsj.com and Sarah E. Needleman at Sarah.Needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2025 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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