Will TikTok Really Be Banned in the U.S.?

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, is a little closer to being banned in the United States. Because of the social media platform's ties to China, many in the U.S. see it as a threat to national security, concerned that its ownership could hand over user data to the Chinese government. In April of this year, Joe Biden signed a law stating that if ByteDance didn't sell the platform, it would have to shut down its presence in the U.S. 

Earlier this year, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said "that China’s government has never and will not ask companies to 'collect or provide data, information or intelligence' held in foreign countries, adding the U.S. 'has not provided any evidence so far to prove that TikTok threatens U.S. national security,'" according to the Associated Press. 

But despite a petition from TikTok to overturn Biden's law, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. unanimously denied the request. Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote the court's opinion, which stated, "The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States." It's possible the Supreme Court will hear the case at some point in the future.  

It's also possible that Donald Trump will take action when he retakes office on Jan. 20 next year. The former president attempted to ban TikTok himself during his first term, but he has since apparently changed his mind. While on the campaign trail this year, he said he now opposes a ban. In September, he posted on Truth Social, "FOR ALL OF THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!" The post included a video in which he said the "other side" was "closing it up," but he's a "big star" on the platform who is "setting records."  

Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X and who has become a big part of Trump's inner circle, could have something to do with Trump's change of heart. He's opposed the TikTok ban from the beginning, citing that it would be "contrary to freedom of speech and expression," and that is not what the United States stands for. 

ByteDance has said that it does not plan to sell the social media platform, and even if it did, a Chinese law could block the sale. Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesperson, said of the court's ruling, "Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people. The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025."