Archivado en:
Donald Trump •
The TikTok ban in the United States has been one of the hottest topics in the country and is causing great concern among its community of more than 170 million users.
The app’s ban was supposed to take effect on January 19, but it became available again in the region —to the surprise of all the users who had shared emotional videos over the weekend or were lamenting the loss of their jobs— during the afternoon of that Sunday.
On January 17, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that TikTok must separate from its parent company, ByteDance, based in China, or be removed from app stores and hosting services in the United States as of that day. According to what was agreed by the Joe Biden administration, the app could only continue operating in the country if it was under U.S. ownership.
But why is TikTok working again now?
Why Has TikTok Returned to The United States?
Access to TikTok was slowly restored on Sunday, January 19. However, with some limitations on web browsers, and only users who already had the app installed could access it, as it had stopped being available on the Google and Apple app stores.
The return of TikTok is mainly due to Donald Trump’s role in the negotiations and his promise to suspend the ban upon taking office on Monday, January 20.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” TikTok communicated through its social media profiles.
The surprising move comes after Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he would reach an agreement to extend ByteDance’s margin to sell the app in the United States. In fact, the now U.S. president proposed that the country would own 50% of the platform.
“On Monday, I will issue an executive order to extend the time period before the law’s bans take effect so that we can reach an agreement to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that no company will be held responsible for helping to prevent TikTok from disappearing before this,” he wrote.
Although the specific details of the agreement between Trump and TikTok have not been disclosed, the tycoon is believed to have provided sufficient guarantees to the app and its business partners (such as Apple and Oracle) to continue operating without legal consequences for the time being.
Why is TikTok Being Banned in the US?
The main argument for the ban of TikTok in the United States is that it poses a potential national security risk. ByteDance, the parent company of the platform, is Chinese-owned. This is why both the Trump administration in 2020 and the Biden administration in 2021 have attempted to advance the possible ban of the platform for two main reasons: the collection and use of data from millions of U.S. residents, and the potential dissemination of geopolitical interests of the Asian country.
In 2024, the U.S. Congress proposed the Americans Protection Act Against Foreign Adversary-Controlled Apps (which received broad bipartisan support), which again ordered ByteDance to divest from the app due to supposed security concerns, driven by the dissemination of content counter to the political interests of the U.S. government, such as messages of support for Palestine.
The bill was approved by Congress and signed into law by Joe Biden. After a lawsuit from TikTok, the law was upheld by the Supreme Court on January 17. Now, the procedure could face a possible extension of at least 90 days.
Who Will Buy TikTok in the United States?
The future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain. Although Trump’s proposal is for the country to buy half of the app, there are other potential buyers interested, such as Elon Musk (though ByteDance has denied any possibility of selling to the entrepreneur), Mr. Beast, or Merck Milk.
USA
ES
MX
CO
CH
PA
ARG
CR
GUA
EC
RD
