Is TikTok Getting Banned in the US? What will happen to those Users and Creators?

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TikTok Banned in the US: TikTok’s US operations face uncertainty after a federal appeals court on Friday rejected a challenge to a law that would have forced the social media platform to separate from its Chinese parent by mid-January.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the law, rejecting arguments from the companies that it violates the rights of US residents as well as their own.

The government has asked TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the platform.

Impact on TikTok users and content creators

Banning TikTok if ByteDance fails to comply could have significant consequences for content creators who rely on the app for their livelihoods, and for users who use the app for entertainment and socializing. “The Supreme Court has protected Americans’ free speech rights many times throughout its history, and we expect it will continue to do so on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok spokesman Michael Hughes said in a statement.

Is TikTok Getting Banned in the US? What will happen to those Users and Creators?

“Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was designed and implemented based on inaccurate and false assumptions, resulting in total censorship of the American people,” Hughes continued, according to the Associated Press. If TikTok is banned, advertisers are likely to shift their focus to other social media platforms.The ruling sent shares of Meta Platforms, a major competitor in online advertising, to an all-time high, closing up 2.4%.Alphabet, the parent of YouTube, a TikTok competitor, also saw its shares rise, closing up 1.25%.

Is TikTok being sold?

ByteDance has said it won’t sell TikTok. Chinese export controls imposed in 2020 could prevent it from selling its proprietary algorithm, a technology key to TikTok’s success. Without the algorithm, each buyer would only buy a basic version of the platform.

Still, some investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest. McCourt’s Project Liberty Initiative has reportedly received informal pledges of more than $20 billion for a potential offering.