US Supreme Court Confirms TikTok Ban, Unless ByteDance Sells Stake by Tomorrow
The US Supreme Court confirmed yesterday evening that Chinese company ByteDance must divest its stake in TikTok by tomorrow, Sunday, or face an effective ban of the app in the United States. ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok, which means many American users may lose access to the app this weekend. However, the app may still function for those who already have TikTok on their phone.
The highest court stated in its ruling that while data collection and analysis are common practices in the digital age, TikTok's size and susceptibility to control by foreign adversaries, as well as the vast amounts of sensitive data the platform collects, pose a national security risk.
The fate of the Chinese app is now in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who was initially in favor of banning TikTok during his first term but has since changed his stance. He is now more open to a political solution to the issues raised in this case. Notably, TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be one of the many tech industry leaders attending Trump's inauguration on Monday.
The decision is a boon for Instagram, which is preparing for a wave of new users. Meanwhile, RedNote, a Chinese social media app and TikTok lookalike, has risen to the top of Apple's app store, indicating that millions of TikTok users are seeking alternatives.
If ByteDance decides to sell TikTok to an American company or a group of investors, potential buyers may have to pay between $40 and $50 billion.
