“Sociable” is the most recent commentary on essential social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.
So TikTok is now officially banned within the U.S., but in addition it’s not, and also, it’s only banned for individuals who wish to download the app, while those that’ve previously downloaded it may possibly still use it. And President Trump’s vowed that he’s going to reserve it and make loads of money for the U.S. as he does so.
Yeah, should you weren’t following the back-and-forth over the weekend (which little doubt every social media manager was, given the impact that it could have on their strategy), TikTok is now kind of illegal for U.S. users, but Trump’s seeking to make it okay and issued an executive order holding off enforcement of a sell-off bill for 75 days.
Which may or may not work.
Also, there’s been some confusion over Trump’s actual role within the TikTok saga, and whether he was the one who originally sparked the push that led to the weekend’s TikTok ban, which he’s now going to save lots of users from.
That’s only partially correct.
Here’s a full timeline of events within the still-ongoing TikTok ownership chaos in America.
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July 2020 – After various governments moved to ban TikTok on official devices, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that the U.S. was considering banning TikTok entirely. President Trump then reinforces this, noting that he’s considering banning TikTok within the U.S. in retaliation for the COVID pandemic.
August 2020 – President Trump issues an executive order to ban TikTok on account of data gathering and censorship conducted within the app on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
September 2020 – Part of Trump’s executive order (banning downloads of the app) is blocked by the District Court for the District of Columbia, with the judge noting that the president “likely exceeded his authority by attempting to ban TikTok” without adequate evidence or due process.
October 2020 – Trump’s executive order is blocked by a federal judge, after a gaggle of TikTok influencers challenge the ban. The federal court judge also notes that Trump has exceeded his authority by invoking emergency economic powers based on hypothetical claims.
November 2020 – On appeal from the White House, a second federal judge blocks Trump’s executive order, again citing lack of evidence of wrongdoing and lack of due process for TikTok and parent company ByteDance.
July 2021 – President Joe Biden issues an executive order that revokes the Trump administration’s attempts to ban TikTok. At the identical time, the Biden administration acknowledges concerns in regards to the “foreign adversary” controlled app. So yes, Trump did initiate the push to ban TikTok, but that effort was initially based on retaliation, not security concerns, and it failed and was shut down in 2021.
December 2022 – The Senate Intelligence Committee proposes a brand new bill to “block and prohibit all transactions” within the United States by social media corporations with at the least a million monthly users which are based in, or under the “substantial influence” of, countries which are considered foreign adversaries.
March 2024 – After confidential briefings from cybersecurity experts on the risks posed by TikTok, house lawmakers approve laws that can force ByteDance to sell TikTok into U.S. ownership. The house vote on the laws is 352 to 65.
March 2024 – Presidential candidate Trump says he wouldn’t ban TikTok if he had a alternative, despite security concerns, as banning TikTok would only profit Meta. Trump says that Meta acted in a biased way when it banned his account in 2021.
April 2024 – Following one other confidential briefing from security officials, the U.S. Senate passes laws that can force TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or face a ban within the region. The bill is passed 79-18. Shortly after, President Biden signs the bill into law, giving Bytedance 9 months (or till Jan. 19, 2025) to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based owner.
June 2024 – Presidential candidate Trump joins TikTok.
September 2024 – After gaining thousands and thousands of followers within the app, Trump vows to save lots of TikTok if elected, noting that he’s now a “big star” on the platform.
December 2024 – A U.S. appeals court rejects TikTok’s bid to disqualify the U.S. government’s enforced sell-off bill.
January 2025 – The Supreme Court upholds the TikTok sell-off bill.
- The Biden Administration says that it is going to not implement the TikTok ban on Jan. 19, leaving it to Trump and his team to enact the bill as they select. Yet, even so, the approved law goes into effect, leaving app providers with no alternative but to remove TikTok within the U.S.
- President-elect Trump says that he’ll “most definitely” sign a 90-day extension for TikTok once he’s inaugurated, though it’s not clear that this is feasible on reflection, because the law can have already been enacted.
- TikTok informs users that it is going to need to go offline within the U.S.
- After a temporary period of unavailability (16 hours), TikTok is restored within the U.S., after Oracle accepts Trump’s assurances that they won’t be fined under the sell-off bill. Apple and Google keep TikTok out of their app stores for fear of prosecution.
- After his inauguration, Trump signs an executive order instructing the Attorney General to not take any motion to implement the TikTok sell-off bill for a period of 75 days, with a view to allow Trump and his team “to find out the suitable course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform utilized by thousands and thousands of Americans.”
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So as you’ll be able to see, TikTok is technically still banned within the U.S., based on the Senate-approved bill that went into effect on January 19. It’s not clear that Trump is in a position to issue an executive order suspending a law that’s already been approved, and that’ll be the next battleground for TikTok U.S.
But Trump is confident that he can halt the bill and discover a latest solution, that eventually sees TikTok develop into 50% U.S.-owned and meets the necessities of the unique bill.
Again, to be clear, it stays entirely unclear if that’s possible, or if TikTok may be unbanned via executive order from the president.
But for right away at the least, TikTok is generally functional again for Americans.
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