It is a soap opera full of twists and turns. Threatened with ban in the United States, Tiktok is currently still alive, despite a disappearance of a few hours on January 19. The opportunity for us to come back to this sprawling case in four questions.
Why is Tiktok threatened with ban in the United States?
Under a law adopted in 2024, Tiktok was required to sell his American branch by January 19, 2025 under penalty of a blockage on the national territory. This is what happened before a transitional rescue by the new president Donald Trump.
Why such treatment? The American authorities have expressed concerns about national security, fearing that the Chinese government could access the data of American users and influence the content broadcast on the platform. However, no public evidence has been revealed on this subject, even if some parliamentarians have been able to access confidential data.
How did the social network come out temporarily?
It was one of the first decisions of the Republican following his return to the White House. He signed a decree that allows Tiktok to remain accessible in the United States for a period of 75 days.
According to the published text, this period must allow the new administration of “Determine the procedure to be followed in order to protect national security while avoiding a brutal closure of a communication platform used by millions of Americans”. Tiktok is used by 170 million people in the United States and is the livelihood of many influencers.
What are the arguments of Tiktok to defend its application?
Bytedance does not allow itself to be done and challenged the law before the courts and until the Supreme Court. The company says there is no evidence that the Chinese government has manipulated the platform or access user data.
Tiktok’s legal team maintains that Uncle Sam’s government has not envisaged less restrictive measures before proposing a total prohibition. The social network and its supports believe that this prohibition constitutes a violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed by the first amendment of the American Constitution. The service so far refuses to consider a resale of its American branch.
Who to buy Tiktok?
This is the last big question that arises. Donald Trump spoke of the idea that the social network becomes a 50 %American company. It remains to be seen who will take out the checkbook. Several potential candidates are interested, including Frank McCourt, the owner of OM, but also Perplexity AI.
Elon Musk has already been quoted as a possible buyer, just like Oracle, whose CEO is a long -standing support of the American president. The company could intervene on this file in partnership with Microsoft.
