As TikTok‘s ban seemed inevitable, TikTok users spent the last few days on the Chinese app RedNote, trying to learn Chinese and saying a heartfelt goodbye to their “Chinese spy.” But it is looking less and less likely that TikTok will actually disappear on January 19.
Most observers of the Supreme Court expect the court to uphold the law requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. business to TikTok or face a ban on January 19. But there seems to be little desire to enforce the law, which was passed last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. New President Donald Trump, who has officially asked the Supreme Court to delay the ban, said he wants to “save” the app.
Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that Trump was “considering” signing an executive order shortly after taking office on January 20 “that would suspend enforcement of the law banning or selling TikTok for 60 to 90 days.” NBC News now reports that unnamed “White House officials” say they don’t want TikTok banned from their watches either.
Under the law, Apple and Google are required to remove the app from their stores or pay billions in fines. Just because unnamed representatives of the Biden administration said they would not enforce the law when they walk out the door does not mean that these two companies, which are typically risk-averse, will choose to ignore federal law. Especially after just a month ago, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Communist Party of China sent letters to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook clearly reminding them of their obligation to comply with the same law.
Even if Apple and Google remove the app from their stores, TikTok could still theoretically function for the millions of people who have already downloaded it. But earlier this week, The Information reported that TikTok plans to make the app inaccessible on Sunday if the Supreme Court upholds the law. Neither Apple, Google, nor TikTok – all of whom are likely awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision – have responded to questions or commented publicly on either scenario.
But it seems that the desire for TikTok to disappear from Americans’ phones is quickly evaporating. Senator Ed Markey, who last year voted in favor of the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, this week introduced a bill that would extend the ban. In a statement, he said that “the ban was rushed through without sufficient consideration of the profound consequences it will have on the 170 million Americans who use the platform.” Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, who also voted for the bill last April, joined him in calling for the ban to be delayed, as did Representative Ro Khanna (who did not support the original bill).
If TikTok gets some sort of reprieve, several options have been suggested to keep the app online in the US. Among them are finding an American buyer, reviving the Texas project, or simply instructing Trump’s Justice Department officials to simply ignore the law.
If it all seems confusing, it is. Officials from both parties have been issuing dire warnings for months about the theoretical national security threat posed by TikTok. But now that the ban is just days away, no one wants to be accused of being the one who introduced it.
