Will TikTok be Banned in the USA Next Week? What You Need to Know

Is it getting banned? And why is the Supreme Court involved? 

It seems, everyone wants to ban some form of social media. Last year Australia banned social media for under 16-year-olds.

And now, it looks like the USA could be banning TikTok next week.

Confused how we got here? Wondering why they’ve decided to enact this ban? Here’s what we know so far.

Some much-needed context.

In November 2017 ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) acquired Musical.ly for $1 billion. After nine months the app merged with TikTok.

US politicians have never seemed too keen on the video-sharing platform:

• In February 2019 TikTok settled a federal charge of violating US child-privacy laws and agreed to pay a $5.7 million fine.
• In 2020, the US Army, following guidance from the Defense Department, banned TikTok on all government-owned phones.
• In July 2020, then-President Donald Trump (now President-elect) said he was considering banning the app in a then interview with Greta Van Susteren.

President-elect Trump said at the time “it’s a big business. Look, what happened with China with this virus, what they’ve done to this country and to the entire world is disgraceful.” However, he didn’t provide any specifics about a potential ban at the time.

By 2024 Trump has seemingly changed his mind and has posted on his own social media platform Truth Social about how he doesn’t support the app ban.

But it’s not clear whether or not he will do anything to reverse the ban.

It’s also worth noting India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in July 2020 due to a border clash with China.

TikTok ban in the US: what you need to know.

After all this (and much more), in April 2024 President Joe Biden signed a bill which demanded ByteDance sell TikTok to a US-approved buyer or there would be a total ban of the app in the US.

And the bill had bipartisan support (which means it was supported by both Democrats and Republicans).

In early December 2024, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a challenge to the ban brought by TikTok, its parent company ByteDance and several American users. They ruled that the measure was justified by national security concerns. 

@missdarcei I’m going to miss you guys 😞 Follow me on IG and YT! #tiktok #tiktokban #fyp ♬ original sound - seige knows

Later in December 2024, TikTok asked the US Supreme Court to block the law before it came into effect.

In their application they argued the law violates the First Amendment.

“Because TikTok Inc. is a U.S. company exercising editorial discretion over a U.S. speech platform, the First Amendment fully protects it from Congress’s attempt to ban its operation of the platform based on its purported susceptibility to foreign influence,” they wrote in their application.

The law does allow TikTok to keep operating if ByteDance sells it to a non-Chinese entity by 19 January—which ByteDance says is not possible in that timeframe.

We’ll have to wait and see what the US Supreme Court has to say.

How a TikTok ban could impact creators.

Apart from catchy dance videos from the D’Amelios, pets doing funny things and Pepe the prawn memes, TikTok has been used for creatives in the US and all over the world to promote themselves.

In 2019 Lil Nas X released his catchy, country-trap song Old Town Road on the app.

And it’s what kicked off the trend of musical artists using the platform to promote themselves and their music.

And not just music: names like Alix Earle, Bella Poarch, Addison Rae, Khaby Lame and Noah Beck all got their start on the app.

There’s no set date for the Supreme Court to give their answer but at the time of writing ByteDance has until 19 January to sell TikTok or the app will be banned in the US.

Whether you’re a fan or a creator in Australia or abroad, it’s no doubt a TikTok ban in the US will change the way we all connect and create online.