Getty PhotographsTikTok briefly went darkish within the US over the weekend, after the Supreme Court docket denied a bid by Chinese language proprietor ByteDance to overturn a legislation banning it.
However it was again after a day with a message thanking incoming president Donald Trump for his “efforts” in restoring the app.
Why is TikTok again?
On Friday, the Supreme Court docket upheld a legislation, handed by Congress, to ban TikTok.
It mentioned the ban was “designed to forestall China – a chosen overseas adversary – from leveraging its management over ByteDance to seize the private information of US TikTok customers”.
The legislation was attributable to kick in on Sunday, however on Saturday night time, the app went darkish.
Customers within the US who tried to make use of it have been met with a be aware studying: “A legislation banning TikTok has been enacted within the US. Sadly meaning you possibly can’t use TikTok for now.”
Then, on Sunday, the app was again up and working with a message: “Thanks on your persistence and help. On account of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is again within the US!”
Nevertheless, that was just for individuals who already had the app – it was nonetheless unavailable to obtain on app shops within the US.
Posting on Fact Social, a social media platform he owns, Trump mentioned: “I am asking firms to not let TikTok keep darkish!”
Trump mentioned he would situation an government order on Monday to increase the time frame earlier than the ban is launched, “in order that we are able to make a deal to guard our nationwide safety”.
TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew is predicted at Trump’s inauguration on Monday afternoon.
Can Trump overturn the ban?
Getty PhotographsAn government order is an instruction from the president which has the burden of the legislation behind it.
His order, he mentioned, would give the corporate time to discover a US companion to purchase half of the corporate.
“I would really like america to have a 50% possession place in a three way partnership. By doing this, we save TikTok, hold it in good fingers and permit it to remain up,” he mentioned.
The Biden administration made clear they might not implement the legislation – so an alternative choice can be for Trump to comply with swimsuit and permit the legislation to face however inform the Division of Justice (DoJ) to disregard it.
The federal government can be successfully telling Apple and Google they won’t be punished for persevering with to permit folks to obtain TikTok onto their gadgets, that means the legislation would stay in place however would basically be redundant.
Clearly, the corporations is perhaps uncomfortable about breaking the legislation even when they’ve been instructed doing so is ok – as it might be successfully requiring them to take the president’s phrase for it that they won’t face punishment.
Who may purchase TikTok?
Up till now, ByteDance has been resolute that no sale of its prize asset within the US is on the desk.
However may that change now that it has really been banned?
Potential patrons proceed to line up – with Bloomberg Information reporting on Tuesday that the agency was taking a look at a sale to billionaire Elon Musk, although TikTok described this as “pure fiction”.
Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt are amongst those that have beforehand expressed an curiosity in shopping for it.
Mr McCourt, a former proprietor of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball workforce, mentioned he had secured $20bn in verbal commitments from a consortium of traders to bid for TikTok.
There may be an much more left subject – and significantly much less critical – proposed proprietor.
The largest YouTuber on the earth Jimmy Donaldson – AKA MrBeast – has claimed he’s now within the working to make a deal after he had billionaires reaching out to him about it.
What about TikTok’s sister apps?
TikTok was the one ByteDance app which turned obtainable once more after the ban – although just for individuals who already had the app.
It is nonetheless unavailable to obtain from Apple and Google’s app shops.
As of Monday morning, different apps owned by the corporate are nonetheless unavailable to make use of within the US, The Verge experiences.
These embrace Lemon8, one other social media app which has been in comparison with Pinterest, and CapCut, a video enhancing app.
In the meantime Marvel Snap, a digital card sport printed by a ByteDance subsidiary, additionally went down – which caught even its US-based developer Second Dinner off guard.
The corporate posted on X on Sunday that the outage was a “shock”, and later mentioned it “hoped to have it again on-line inside 24 hours”.
What platforms may folks flip to as a substitute?
TikTok says it has 170 million customers within the US who, on common, spent 51 minutes per day on the app in 2024.
Whereas its future continues to be somewhat unsure, rivals reminiscent of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts could profit.
Customers convey advertisers – so this might be an enormous monetary increase to these platforms.
“Chief advertising and marketing officers who we have spoken with confirmed that they’ll divert their media {dollars} to Meta and Google if they will not promote on TikTok,” mentioned Kelsey Chickering, an analyst at market analysis firm Forrester.
Different potential winners embrace Twitch, which made its identify on internet hosting livestreams – a preferred function on TikTok. Twitch is well-known notably to players, although it continues to develop with different content material.
Different Chinese language-owned platforms, reminiscent of Xiaohongshu – often called RedNote amongst its US customers – have seen speedy progress within the US and the UK.
