The Supreme Court upheld a ban on TikTok
Following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in the TikTok case, US President Donald Trump said, “My decision on TikTok will be made in not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation.” Trump had earlier said he had a “very good” call with China’s President Xi Jinping, including discussions about the app.
The Supreme Court held on to the TikTok Ban Law
The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled that web hosting companies can’t sell content from Chinese social media platform TikTok due to national security concerns. The ruling means that starting on January 19, 2018, Apple and other tech giants will no longer offer TikTok. Web Hosting Providers must cut ties with the platform or be subject to fines of $5,000 for each user.
RedNote is a Chinese app that American TikTokkers are using
TikTok faces a ban under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed last year by President Joe Biden. RedNote could be forced to divest or face a ban under the statute, a US official said. The RedNote app moved to the top of the free apps chart on the Apple app store.
Before the backlash started, TikTok wasn’t even Banned
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance’s Chinese app Xiaohongshu has surged to the top of the charts on the country’s app store. “Started learning in Duolingo and from creators on Red Note [or Xiaohongshu],” an TikTok user wrote. China’s social media platform Instagram has also seen an increase in the number of Chinese users after TikTok’s shutdown.
The Chinese app RedNote is flooding the American app TikTokkers
TikTok users in the US are flooding Chinese social media platform RedNote. As per reports, more than a fifth of RedNote’s total app downloads this month have come from the US, up from 2% in the same period in the previous year. “For so long, we couldn’t connect…now we finally can, and it feels so special,” a Chinese user said.
What to prepare for a TikTok ban in the US
Oracle, which provide cloud infrastructure to TikTok in the US, would likely also be required to stop hosting the app’s data, as per reports. “If anybody uses your service to access TikTok and you’re in violation…it’s $5,000 per person that does that,” Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said.
With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Go to Chinese App
Several TikTok users in the US have started using Xiaohongshu instead of TikTok after the US Supreme Court heard arguments on the app’s ban by January 19. A TikTok refugee going by the name of “Elle belle” said on the Xiaohongshu app that he was unable to read the rules. Some users said they would like to stick to a platform developed by a Chinese company.
It could be possible for TikTok to get a 270 day extension
TikTok will get harder to access in the US as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to consider TikTok’s constitutionality, Kate Ruane, Director of the Free Expression Project, said. She added that even after the law takes effect, users won’t be banned from using the app if they have it on their phones. TikTok is owned by China’s ByteDance.
After the Supreme Court argued about TikTok’s case, it is likely that it will be banned
TikTok may be blocked in the US by January 19 if its owner, ByteDance, does not sell the US business by that date. US President-elect Donald Trump had originally proposed thatByteDance be forced to sell TikTok during his first presidential term, but has since reversed course. Trump has a number of options, including instructing his administration to not enforce the law.
The US would have a TikTok Ban
The US Supreme Court is set to hear TikTok’s appeal against the state of the Union law that would force the Chinese video-sharing app to shut down in the US. TikTok claims its data collection practices aren’t different from those of the leading US social media apps. However, the company says forcing it to stop working in the US represents an unprecedented government suppression of free speech.