President Donald Trump muted a ban on TikTok in 2020 in the dying days of his first White House residency. Strangely, after signing an Executive Order in his second coming on January 20, 2025, to stay action on the enforcement of the Supreme Court ban, he was asked by a reporter why he’d had a change of heart since trying to ban TikTok in 2020. His response was: “Because I got to use it.”
He floated the possibility of a joint venture running the company, suggesting a 50-50 partnership between “the United States” and its Chinese owner, ByteDance. However, he did not give further details on how that might work. Trump also said he might impose new trade tariffs on China if a deal for the platform is not struck.
He was quoted as saying that if Beijing rejected a deal, “it would be somewhat of a hostile act.”
In 2020, Trump issued an executive order citing TikTok’s ability to capture vast amounts of user data as a significant national security threat. The order sought to prohibit certain transactions involving ByteDance but was blocked by federal courts. Subsequently, the Trump administration directed ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok operations and user data. These efforts stalled as negotiations with the Joe Biden administration failed to resolve security concerns. ByteDance’s proposed national security agreement was ultimately deemed insufficient to mitigate risks posed by Chinese control.
Against this backdrop, the American Congress enacted the “Protecting Americans Against Foreign Adversary Controlled Application Act,” further targeting TikTok and similar applications.
According to the Supreme Court, TikTok’s ultimate parent company, ByteDance, is a privately held company that operates in China. ByteDance owns TikTok’s proprietary algorithm, which is developed and maintained in China. The company is subject to Chinese laws that require it to assist or cooperate with the Chinese government’s intelligence work, ensuring the government has the power to access and control private data.
The decision underscored that TikTok’s extensive data collection from more than 170 million U.S. users could be exploited for surveillance, public influence campaigns, or other harmful purposes that threaten national security. The Act reflects Congress’ and the Supreme Court’s efforts to address concerns over foreign adversary-controlled applications accessing sensitive data of U.S. nationals.
With President Trump’s Executive Order maintaining the status quo on TikTok for 75 days and the possible acquisition of 50 per cent ownership by American investors, TikTok still swims against the tide.
TikTok had gone to the Supreme Court to appeal the April 24, 2024, Act, but in a much-anticipated decision on January 17, 2025, the court rejected the appeal and upheld the Act.
Signed into law on April 24, 2024, the Act gave ByteDance nine months to divest the popular U.S. company or face a ban. ByteDance mounted a First Amendment challenge, but the Supreme Court dismissed it.
Starting January 19, 2025, a day before Trump’s inauguration, the Act effectively banned TikTok unless its U.S. operations were divested from ByteDance. The platform went off-air for 24 hours, but after the Executive Order, it now has 75 days to determine its future in compliance with the Act.
As established by the Supreme Court’s decision, TikTok is classified as a foreign adversary-controlled application due to its ownership by ByteDance. The Act bans the distribution, maintenance, or updates of TikTok in the U.S. unless ByteDance completes a qualified divestiture.
A divestiture would require ByteDance to relinquish all direct and indirect control over TikTok’s U.S. operations, ensuring operational independence and preventing future ties with ByteDance or other foreign adversary-affiliated entities.
Should ByteDance refuse to divest, TikTok would face a nationwide ban. This would not result in the immediate removal of the app from users’ devices, but the ban would be enforced by penalising companies providing services to banned entities – such as internet hosting providers and app store operators (Apple and Google).
These companies would be prohibited from distributing or updating TikTok, leading to a gradual decline of the app. Over time, without updates or maintenance, TikTok would likely become obsolete.
The Act prohibits any company from distributing, maintaining, or updating an entity classified as a foreign adversary-controlled application within the U.S. Such applications are defined as those operated by companies controlled by a foreign adversary and deemed by the president to pose a significant national security threat.
Violations of these restrictions can result in civil enforcement actions and significant monetary penalties.
The Act provides an exception for foreign adversary-controlled applications if they undergo a qualified divestiture. A presidential determination must confirm that the application is no longer under foreign adversary control. Furthermore, the divestiture must ensure that no operational relationships remain between the U.S. operations and any former foreign adversary-affiliated entities.
The Act was signed into law with broad bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats.
Although some lawmakers urged President Biden to grant a reprieve to prevent TikTok from going dark in the U.S. by January 19, 2025, the ban has already driven TikTok refugees to another Chinese app – RedNote (short for “Little Red Book”).
RedNote became the most downloaded app in Apple’s U.S. app store in the week leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision. If this migration trend continues, it could undermine the intent of the Act by shifting users from one Chinese-owned app to another.
The TikTok ban illustrates how U.S. regulatory actions are being designed to mitigate national security risks posed by foreign adversaries. It significantly increases compliance requirements for cross-border investments and technology operations.
Particularly, the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the TikTok ban underlines the trend of intensifying scrutiny of foreign-controlled entities that collect or handle sensitive U.S. data.
Although it remains unclear whether TikTok will get a reprieve, indications suggest that the Trump administration needs more time to evaluate the situation and possibly be the one to implement the ban.
TikTok currently has:
- 1.925 billion users globally
- 170 million monthly active users in the U.S.
- Average daily time spent on TikTok has doubled from 27 minutes in 2019 to 58 minutes in 2024
- Most popular categories: Entertainment, Dance, and Pranks (with billions of views)
- Top influencers: Charli D’Amelio, Khabane Lame, and Addison Rae – each with tens of millions of followers
TikTok’s user base has grown exponentially from 133 million in 2018 to 1.925 billion in 2024.
Daily active users have skyrocketed, reflecting the platform’s deep engagement with audiences.
Despite legal battles and government scrutiny, TikTok remains deeply embedded in the digital culture of millions of Americans. Whether Trump’s 75-day Executive Order leads to a long-term resolution, a forced sale, or an eventual ban remains uncertain.
