Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty/Michael M. Santiago/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Social Media, Technology, TikTok, US News
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Social Media, Technology, TikTok, US News
TikTok’s fate remains just a little bit more uncertain as President Biden makes his stance on the popular Chinese app clear.
People on social media have been up in arms about the incoming ban of TikTok in the coming days.
In case you missed the details of the long-drawn-out debate surrounding the Chinese video-sharing app, the Supreme Court recently ruled that TikTok will no longer be available for download in the States from Sunday 19 January.
Last year in April 2024, Biden signed a bill that gave ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, a chance to sell the app or have it banned in the US.
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There's since been offers to buy TikTok but the Chinese-owned company is yet to budge.
The deadline for ByteDance to sell is January 19, a day before Biden leaves the Oval Office.
However, a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Biden’s administration was ultimately going to leave the decision up to Donald Trump, who is set to enter the White House on January 20.
Trump has expressed a desire to keep the social media app available in the US, however, he and his team have not outlined how they will accomplish that.
Interestingly enough, in his first term of President, 2017 to 2021, he sought the ban out. But during his 2024 presidential campaign, he ended up joining the platform and said he would ‘save it’ and credited it with bringing him more youth votes.
Earlier this week, incoming White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News: “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark.”
He went on to add that new law allows for an extension preventing it from taking effect ‘as long as a viable deal is on the table.’
With that being said, some experts have already explained what will happen on January 19 for users of the app.
After the 19th, if you do not already have the app downloaded on your phone, you’ll be unlikely to download it as it will be removed from app stores under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
For those who have the app prior to the ban, it's expected that it will eventually 'go dark'.
Timothy Edgar, a professor of cybersecurity at Brown University, told CBS: "They will get a notice that says, 'This service is not available in your country.'
"That's most likely what will happen based on what we've seen in other countries that have banned certain platforms.”