What few expected, including Shou Zi Chew, CEO of ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, happened – the app was banned in the US, according to a law that came into effect on January 19.
The implications of shutting down, even for a short period, an influential social communication platform are global, setting a precedent that will lead to a change in the relationship between governments and companies in the digital field.
On Friday, January 17, the US Supreme Court unanimously decided not to postpone the deadline for the enforcement of the ban issued by a law passed by the US Congress and signed by the Joe Biden administration in April 2024, requiring TikTok to be sold to an American investor, otherwise facing closure.
For most people, TikTok is not an app to connect with others. It's a place to waste time, disconnect, and have fun. This passive, dissociative quality, while excellent for engagement, has also made TikTok seem more replaceable than other social networks. If it disappears, we'll get our fix elsewhere.
Kevin Roose, New York Times
The law was also challenged by the Chinese company ByteDance in a federal court in Washington in December 2024, but they lost the case there as well.
Shou Zi Chew, the head of TikTok, will attend the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump's second term, alongside Mark Zuckerberg (Meta, Facebook), and Elon Musk (X/Twitter), the most important and influential owners of social platforms.
But the triumph of digital billionaires will be overshadowed by the removal of the app from Apple and Google's online stores and the effective shutdown of the site.
From the threat of riots to a farewell to Chinese spies
The Chinese had bet on the fact that there would be great pressure from the "160 million users" of TikTok in the US, the app becoming too big to be shut down - "too big to fail," as Americans say. But the company's administrators were mistaken.
"But in the past few days... something less visible is happening. There are no #SaveTikTok rallies that have been talked about. The hordes of angry Zoomers, with pouty lips and broccoli haircuts, are not marching in the streets, demanding justice for their favorite video app. Even among the most ardent TikTok addicts I know, the dominant mood these days is humor, not outrage or sadness. This week, a popular meme on TikTok has been users jokingly saying goodbye to Chinese spies," wrote technology journalist Kevin Roose for the New York Times.
Although there is a promise from Donald Trump to intervene and offer "a 90-day reprieve" for the Chinese company to sell the app, the situation is complicated because the president's decision must be validated by Congress.
Even if voted on quickly, the 48-hour period during which TikTok disappeared from the American online environment has created a crack in the "invincibility" of the billionaire social network owners.
The fact that a legal precedent has been created, with arguments highlighting that such a ban does not limit freedom of speech, as TikTok's lawyers claim, and that the app poses a danger to the safety and health of citizens, will provide a legal basis for action both for the European Union, which can use the provisions of the Digital Services Act, and for states, which can ban the app based on national legislation.
The European Union is building a legal framework in which social platforms can operate. Billionaires disagree
In Europe, TikTok is being investigated by the European Commission following reports filed by Romania regarding election manipulation through illegal campaigns hosted by the app.
Additionally, ByteDance lost a case in the European Court of Justice where the Chinese company challenged the authority of the Digital Markets Arbitrator Commission.
The judges' decision obliges TikTok owners to comply with all measures taken at the continental level regarding the protection of European citizens and those related to competition in the online environment.
"The European Commission is not considering imposing a total or partial ban on TikTok or X applications in the Union," said Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the Digital Affairs Commission, in a press statement.
"Instead, the EU gives priority to compliance with regulations through alternatives such as financial sanctions, which can amount to 6% of a company's global annual turnover. The Commission continues to monitor platforms to verify compliance with rules on digital markets (DMA) and digital services, including content moderation and algorithm transparency," the official added.
From this statement made shortly after the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of closing TikTok, a different approach from European authorities is evident.
We're lucky that Trump will work with us on a solution.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok
The Commission is more focused on controlling the activities of social networks in Europe, monitoring them for compliance with laws and gaining access to their algorithms to avoid creating "asymmetry" in the digital market, which could lead to monopoly and abuse of dominant position.
Both Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Meta (Facebook, Instagram), and Elon Musk (owner of X) have publicly criticized the decisions of the European Commission and the provisions of digital law, which greatly limit the scope of these applications, discourage competition, and generate revenue.
Social networks, from cat photos to hybrid warfare
Even if TikTok is saved by Donald Trump and granted a grace period, China's representatives will still be obliged to sell the app to an American investor, further complicating the situation.
The role of TikTok, as well as other social networks, is no longer just about user communication, interaction, or sharing common experiences or concerns, posting about pets, high school friends, and family events.
Their success has turned them into the most powerful tools for influencing public opinion in certain countries and territories, as well as globally.
Social networks are used by governments to gather information about citizens, by parties and political leaders for electoral campaigns, intensively in hybrid warfare, but also for fraud, human trafficking, and the sale of prohibited products such as drugs and weapons.
On the other hand, they also have a strong positive role in informing citizens, promoting humanitarian causes, raising funds to help vulnerable individuals, protesting against abusive, authoritarian, and dictatorial political regimes.
Political control of social networks
For the authorities in China, TikTok represents a goldmine in terms of collecting data about users from the US and Europe, as well as a platform through which, in an extremely subtle way, representatives of the major Asian power promote their strategic interests and public image internationally.
This was the reason why the company's management repeatedly refused to collaborate with Western authorities regarding the way information about users is collected, used, and stored.
The precedent set by the ban on TikTok greatly weakens the influence of social network owners and shareholders, putting them back under the authority of governments and political leaders.
The salvation of TikTok today depends on Donald Trump, just as the operation of social networks on the old continent will increasingly depend on the decisions of the European Commission.