TikTok’s official launch in the United States has passed.
Lawyers for the social media app on Friday (January 10) tried to persuade a US Supreme Court judge to invalidate or temporarily block a law that could lead to TikTok being banned from the market if its Chinese owner Byte Beat does not sell the app in the United States as of January 19.
Today (January 17), the Supreme Court announced its verdict: The law will be upheld, which means that TikTok’s US business must be divested to avoid being shut down in the market – which is crucial in the market 170 million user.
You can read the court’s full decision here .
information Reports on Tuesday said TikTok was preparing to shut down immediately in the United States on Sunday (January 19), the day the law takes effect.
President-elect Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order to temporarily suspend the law.
The proposed pause — lasting 60 or 90 days — would give the Trump administration time to find a buyer for TikTok’s U.S. operations or find another solution, namely washington post Reported on Wednesday (January 15).
Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for January 20.
The Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which takes effect on January 19, targets apps owned by companies deemed by the United States to be a security threat. President Joe Biden signed the law in April 2024.
TikTok has been listed as a matter of legal concern, with U.S. lawmakers warning it could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government. TikTok denies these claims.
U.S. lawmakers last month warned Google and Apple that they must prepare to remove TikTok from app stores by January 19, 2025, if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by that date .
While existing users may still use the app for a while, it may eventually become unavailable in the market.
During two hours of oral arguments last Friday (January 10), TikTok’s lawyers were unable to convince the Supreme Court that the introduction of the law would infringe on its First Amendment right to free speech.
The court also heard from TikTok’s lawyers and said that without a recommendation algorithm to support TikTok globally, it would be difficult to separate the TikTok app in the United States.
The app’s recommendation algorithm powers its “For You feed,” which ByteDance and TikTok describe as “one of the defining features of the TikTok platform.”
ByteDance has previously said it has no plans to sell the platform in the U.S., with or without the algorithm, but that didn’t stop it from making a formal offer before the January 19 deadline.
Last Thursday (January 9), free planfounded by billionaire entrepreneurs Frank McCourt, formally made what the organization calls “People bid for TikTok, saying it aims to relaunch the platform on “new American-made digital infrastructure.”
Project Liberty said on Thursday it had the “financial capacity to complete the transaction,” including “expressions of interest in sufficient equity capital from investors including major private equity funds, family offices and high net worth individuals.” The company said it could also obtain debt financing from “one of the largest banks in the world.” USA”.
McCourt’s Project Liberty also said it was “extensively supported by leading legal and financial advisors with extensive experience in completing complex, high-risk transactions quickly”.
“We have submitted a proposal to ByteDance to realize Project Liberty’s reimagined TikTok vision—one built on a stack of human-centered technology made in the United States,” said Frank McCourtfounder of the Freedom Project.
“By keeping the platform alive and avoiding a ban without relying on the current TikTok algorithm, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform. We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to Complete the deal.
Elsewhere this week, Bloomberg Tech billionaire Elon Musk may reportedly save the app.
According to reports, from Bloomberg Sources were quoted as saying on Monday (January 13) that “Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option for Musk to acquire the U.S. business of the TikTok app if it is banned.”
Bloomberg It added that “it is unclear whether there have been any talks between the billionaire, TikTok and ByteDance.”
Response to the media after the article was published Bloomberg’s “We cannot be expected to comment on matters that are pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said, according to the report.global music business
