The clock is ticking for TikTok. January 19 may mark the end of an era for the app’s hundreds of millions of American users. If the federal authorities do not suspend the application of the law passed last year in April, Apple and Google will have to remove the application from their respective stores.
As the Supreme Court prepares to examine the constitutionality of the law which could force ByteDance to divest TikTok, the application has ten days to avoid a ban on American soil. A scenario that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, but which could become reality in the absence of a sale by ByteDance.
The legal battle: freedom of expression vs. national security
Friday promises to be decisive. Indeed, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from TikTok and the Department of Justice regarding the constitutionality of “ Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act “. This law, adopted by a large majority, places judges in a dilemma : arbitrate between the protection of the First Amendment, so dear to Americans, and the imperatives of national security.
Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat of the Cardozo School of Law notes that the makeup of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, representing judges appointed by presidents of both parties, could foreshadow the Supreme Court’s decision. A not very encouraging signal for TikTok : the Court having already refused to suspend the law before the pleadings.
Sell or disappear? The Chinese dilemma in the face of American pressure
Faced with the January 19 deadline, several options are available to TikTok. President-elect Donald Trump, who showed his support; the word is weak; for enforcement, could intervene either by ordering the Department of Justice not to apply the law, or by favoring a transfer.
However, China’s position complicates any sales prospects. For Long Le, professor at Santa Clara University, the Chinese government has no interest in authorizing the sale of TikTok. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described this American pressure as “ bullying behavior » likely to « undermine the confidence of international investors “.
Among the potential buyers, Project Libertyfounded by billionaire Frank McCourt, offers an original approach. Acquire the TikTok user base, content and brand, while developing new, more transparent recommendation systems. A proposal that could satisfy both Chinese demands for conservation of the algorithm and the American desire for control over the application.
Ten days before the deadline, the future of TikTok in the United States remains more uncertain than ever. Between legal constraints, geopolitical tensions and economic issues, the platform finds itself at the heart of a standoff between two great world powers which are engaged in a real technological cold war for several decades. A rivalry that concerns us all, because it has a direct impact on the global economy, and above all on global geopolitical stability.
- TikTok risks being banned in the United States if April’s law is not suspended by January 19.
- Justice will have to decide between freedom of expression and national security, placing the application in a critical position.
- A sale appears to be the only viable outcome, but tensions with China complicate this option.
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By: TikTok Pte. Ltd.
