If you’ve been on TikTok over the past few days, you’ve no doubt witnessed your favorite creators saying their goodbyes and telling you where you can find them next. With Congress’ impending ban on the social media app set to take effect in the U.S. on Sunday, it seems like there’s little the platform’s users can do. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that it is upholding the ban, citing Congress’ concerns over Chinese access to American user data—but that might not be the end of the story.
The Supreme Court upholds the TikTok ban
In a per curiam opinion posted Friday morning, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the TikTok ban that’s set to remove the platform from app stores starting Sunday, Jan. 19. The move marks the heaviest blow yet to the hope that the app could continue operating as usual, but despite acknowledging that “TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression” for “more than 170 million Americans,” the Court ultimately decided to stand by Congress’ “well-supported national security concerns.”
However, the opinion did offer one silver lining for users as they flee to other apps. While acknowledging that TikTok represents “new technologies with transformative capabilities,” the court cautioned that its ruling should be “understood to be narrowly focused,” rather than serving as precedent for future cases. The justices also argued that their reasoning is “content neutral,” attempting to ease concerns that the real reason behind the TikTok ban might be what users are seeing rather than how their data is being handled.
Will TikTok shut down?
Technically, the terms of TikTok’s ban don’t require the site to shut down operation in the U.S., but rather keeps its app from being distributed by app stores. In this state, the platform would slowly become unusable over time, but the loss of the platform would be a more gradual transition. However, reports say that TikTok is willing to go a step further, threatening to shut down altogether as a sort of nuclear option to protest the ban now that it’s been upheld.
The idea, it seems, is to play chicken with the government. American users have already shown their willingness to use similar Chinese app Xiaohongshu (or RedNote) as a replacement-for-TikTok-slash-act of protest, and TikTok users have been quick to shut down the possibility of moving to Instagram reels or American alternatives. In taking the app away from these users entirely, TikTok might be able to spur them into political action (don’t be surprised if opening the TikTok app on Sunday prompts you to call your representatives).
Essentially, TikTok parent company Bytedance clearly doesn’t want to sell to an American company, which is the only way the current ban would allow TikTok to keep operating. Overcoming the Supreme Court is a tough job, but in swaying public opinion towards its side, the company seems to be looking to do just that.
In fact, it’s already seen some success, as key government officials across both aisles have already expressed desire to backpedal on Congress’ legislation.
Biden and Trump have reportedly both changed their stances
One of the most surprising people said to be changing their mind about a TikTok ban is President Biden, who signed it into law and has only a few days remaining in his term. Speaking to NBC News, “three people familiar with the discussions” indicated the Biden administration is currently working on ways to keep TikTok from going dark on Sunday, although this has been contested.
“Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday,” an administration official told NBC, saying that Biden’s team is “exploring options” to keep that from happening. It’s all a bit vague, but a White House official did clarify that the options being considered wouldn’t include deferring enforcement of the ban, as the administration doesn’t “believe we have the authority to do that.”
But before you get your hopes up, this insider info has been contested by ABC, which says an administration official is now expecting the Biden administration to leave action on the TikTok ban to the incoming Trump administration.
It’s perhaps good news for TikTok users, then, that President Trump has already vocally expressed his opposition to the ban, and reports indicate he’s ready to act to stop it. The Washington Post reports Trump is considering penning an executive order that would delay the ban’s enforcement by 60 to 90 days. Such an extreme measure would perhaps be Trump’s only play here, as the ban is set to go into effect one day before he takes office. Trump’s stance marks a similar change in attitude to President Biden’s: During his first term, Trump signed an executive order that attempted to force TikTok to shut down operations in the U.S., something the company avoided by partnering with U.S.-based company Oracle to protect the data of American users.
A last ditch bill to save TikTok (for now)
Realistically, the most stable way to get the ban struck down, save by the Supreme Court, would be for the members of congress who voted for it to change their minds. The biggest governmental backswing we’ve seen on the TikTok ban so far—or at least the biggest one that doesn’t rely on hearsay and anonymous sources—would be a new bill from Democratic Senator Ed Markey. Introduced this week, Markey’s bill would have extended the deadline for the ban by 270 days, giving TikTok more time to find a buyer or provide lawmakers an opportunity to reevaluate the situation. Unfortunately, it was quickly struck down by Republican lawmakers, but the reasoning behind it does show that at least parts of Congress are beginning to waver.
“In four days, TikTok goes dark,” Markey said while introducing the legislation. “My bill just says, we need more time.”
As part of his justification for the bill, Markey argued that TikTok has been “central to our economy and the way in which we communicate,” arguing that the communities its creators and small businesses have established there “cannot be replicated on another app.”
“We need time to have a deeper conversation about how to address the national security risks caused by Bytedance’s ownership of TikTok.” Markey continued. “We need time to understand the ban’s implication on TikTok’s creators and users. We need time to consider alternative ideas.”
This bill also marked something of a change in attitude from Markey, who originally spoke out against banning the platform but nonetheless voted for the current ban—although it should be noted that the ban was included in a bill also providing aid to Ukraine and Israel.
For his part, in a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to continue “working to keep TikTok alive,” even in the face of Republican opposition.
Support for the ban remains
While politicians across both aisles and two branches of government have now spoken about reversing or delaying the ban, some in government are sticking to their original decision.
“They had all the time in the world,” Republican Senator Rick Scott said. “They’ve had an opportunity to sell it to make sure the Chinese government doesn’t control it and they decided not to do that.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who led the charge on blocking Markey’s bill, said, “We didn’t pull the rug out from under TikTok, and we didn’t ban it. Instead, Congress simply demanded that the app could no longer be owned and controlled by our nation’s worst enemy, communist China.”
For now, all eyes are on Trump, who takes office on Monday. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will be present at his inauguration, and while there’s little Trump can do to keep the ban from going into effect, we could see some quick action just one day later.
But even if legal pressure from the highest office in the land fails to bring back your favorite influencers, there’s also the question of public opinion. Depending on how TikTok responds to the Supreme Court’s decision, Americans could have a very different response to the ban. With enough public fervor, it’s possible we’ll see more attempts from either Congress or the presidency to keep this saga from being finished quite yet.
