Background:
In 2020, the United States government announced they were considering banning TikTok due to it being a Chinese owned company.
In 2023, many legislators question the CEO of TikTok in order for him to explain that his company are not a part of the Chinese government.
In March of 2024, a bill to ban TikTok or force them to sell it to a United States company is created. The House of Representatives passes this.
In April of 2024, the Senate passes this bill and President Biden signs it.
In May of 2024, TikTok sues saying the bill goes against the First Amendment.
On Jan. 17, Supreme Court rules against their challenge and states that TikTok will be banned on Sunday, Jan. 19.
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The government has two reasons to ban the app. To prevent China from collecting US citizen’s data and manipulating content on the app.
The Chinese government has previously said they will not allow a forced sale of the app.
Many have come up to defend TikTok. This include free speech advocates that said the government is taking away free speech rights of many by shutting down the app.
Many users are starting to download their TikTok data to their phones. You can find out how to here.
There is a lot of push to give a 90 day extension on the decision.
Supreme Court upholds ban. Tiktok has till Sunday to sell tiktok to an American buyer. If they don’t sell it, TikTok will be banned.
TikTok users are suggesting downloading VPNs to your phone in order to keep TikTok. This is not a confirmed solution.
Users are now downloading the chinese version of the app called “RedNote”. The app has boomed in downloads hourly. This is starting to raise more concerns for the supreme court.
TikTok users opened the app on Sunday, Jan. 19 to the message “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
The message continues, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
There is zero way for TikTok users in the United States to access their account.