As of this writing, Friday, January 17, 2025 … TikTok is still set to be banned in the US on January 19, 2025, Sunday. Now is that the strike of midnight and change? 12:01 am? Or is it at discretion of Google Play, and the Apple Store to remove it from the download libraries?
For those that support the ban, when the US Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, it’s one step closer to being a reality. (My live-in landlord that I renamed to House Boss has stated many times over that social media is the devil, and will be the downfall of American society)
That said, no one really knows what will happen on Sunday. Will TikTok “go dark”, with a static message on the infinity scroll page? Perhaps.
I dove in deeper into the details to find more information. Is the banishment a ‘rung bell’ (Urban Dictionary)
TikTok is set to be banned Sunday. Here’s what it means for you!
The clock is ticking down on TikTok in America.
Alaw that requires TikTok to find a new, non-Chinese owner or face a ban is scheduled to go into effect Sunday — and there is little indication the company is set to pull off a sale before then.
That means 170 million Americans could lose access to a platform they use to find entertainment, news and community, or even run a business, after TikTok became the first new platform in years to pose a real competitive threat to Americansocial media stalwarts like Instagram and YouTube.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law, bringing the ban one step closer. And the company itself said, without immediate intervention from the Biden intervention, it would shut itself down on Sunday.
But although that’s now less than two full days away, there are still many unknowns about what exactly will happen.
Will the outgoing President Joe Biden administration provide direction? That’s not sounding likely.
Will incoming President Trump intervene? If the list of expected attendees at his inauguration is any indication, it’s likely he’ll try.
Here’s what we know — and what we don’t — about the ban deadline day.
~ Clare Dunn, CNN
Will my app go away?
TikTok itself turned up the pressure on Friday night, saying it would go dark on Sunday night absent explicit “clarity and assurance.”
“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” the statement, posted online late Friday, read.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”
Experts had expected the app to be removed on Sunday from the Apple and Google app stores — which could face fines under the law for continuing to host TikTok after the deadline. That would mean anyone without the app already ontheir phones couldn’t download it, but existing users could continue accessing it, without security updates, until it eventually becomes glitchy or stops working.
But a Biden administration official told CNN Thursday that the outgoing president plans to leave it to Trump to enforce the ban. “Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement,” the official said.
That could mean that, given Trump takes office the day after the ban takes effect, there would be no one to explicitly instruct app stores to remove the platform on Sunday, potentially leaving them to decide for themselves whether to comply.
So, users should mentally and emotionally prepare to potentially lose access to the app starting Sunday, unless they want to download a VPN to get around the ban.
Why TikTok was banned
The central allegation against TikTok is that the company poses a potential national security risk. US officials have worried that the Chinese government could pressure TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance, into handing over the personal information of its US users, which could then be used for Chinese intelligence operations or the spreading of Chinese-backed disinformation.
There’s no evidence yet that that has actually happened. Still, policymakers and security experts have said China’s national security laws make it a possibility — identifying a kernel of risk that fits into a broader anti-China narrative linked to issues including trade, human rights and authoritarianism.
Those concerns were renewed after a report in 2022 suggested US user data had been repeatedly accessed by China-based employees. TikTok has disputed the report. In recent years, the company says it made changes to how it handles US user data, including storing it in US-based severs owned by Silicon Valley tech company Oracle.
President Joe Biden signed a bill in April that required the platform to be sold to a new, non-Chinese owner or be banned in the United States.
~ Clare Dunn, CNN
Who supported a TikTok ban?
The law to ban TikTok was widely supported across both sides of the aisle, with the US House of Representatives approving it with a bipartisan vote of 360-58. House Republican leadership attached the TikTok bill to funding for Ukrainian military equipment and Israeli missile defense, putting the pressure on Senate lawmakers to consider the whole package in a single up-or-down vote.
The bill was then fast-tracked through the Senate, passing less than a week later. The Biden administration ordered all executive branch employees to remove TikTok from their phones within 30 days in February 2023.
What’s Trump going to do?
Although the idea of a TikTok ban was born during Trump’s first presidency, he has since made a 180-degree turn and said he wants to save the app.
The complicating factor: the ban is set to go into effect one day before Trump takes office.
Trump had asked the Supreme Court to temporarily pause the ban’s implementation to give him time, as president, to negotiate a sale of TikTok. And sources familiar with his plans told CNN on Wednesday that he was weighing whether to delay the ban and preserve Americans’ access to the platform while he works on a deal.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is set to be seated on the dais, alongside other leading tech CEOs, at Trump’s inauguration — perhaps a sign of just how serious the incoming president is about trying to save the app.
And with some in Congress now suggesting that TikTok might need more time to find a buyer, Trump could find support in trying to push off the ban to a later date. The law gives the president the option to extend the ban by 90 days, but triggering the extension requires evidence that parties working on purchasing have made significant progress, including binding legal agreements for such a deal — and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, hasn’t publicly updated its stance that the app is not for sale.
~ Clare Dunn, CNN
The Golden Mean
You ask, “What are your thoughts on TikTok?” Well, I’ve had the same stance about it as I have about other social media platforms such as: MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, etc. IF used in moderation, it’s a great!
Aristotle introduced the term “the golden mean” in his Nicomachean Ethics. The golden mean is the idea that virtue is found in moderation and balance – it is based on the idea that every virtue is a mean between two vices, one of excess and the other of deficiency.
The golden mean is a principle that can be applied to many aspects of life, including ethics, morality, and decision making. For example, courage is a virtue, but too much courage can become recklessness, and too little courage can become cowardice.
So the fact, the TikTok app had an infinity scroll feature could lead to doomscrolling. (When you keep scrolling through all of your social media feeds, looking for the most recent upsetting news about the latest catastrophe. The amount of time spent doing this is directly proportional to how much worse you’re going to feel after you’re done.)
The app does provide well-being guide under the TikTok Safety Center, and time limit reminders under Screen Time. I have mine set to 40 minutes as a maximum amount of time, I’m reminded of my usage at 30 minutes.
To me, I didn’t spent an excessive amount of time on the app.
TikTok became popular in 2018, and its popularity continued to grow in the years that followed. It was the most downloaded app in the United States in October 2018. In 2019, TikTok’s popularity skyrocketed, with downloads surpassing Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat!
In 2020, TikTok’s popularity continued to grow, and the app surpassed 1 billion users worldwide.
So why, TikTok? TikTok’s popularity was fueled by viral challenges, catchy songs, and memorable moments. In addition, celebrities, influencers, and everyday users contributed to TikTok’s explosive growth. TikTok offers creative tools like quirky effects and filters, and a database flooded with songs that most likely were not protected by US copyright laws (my speculation only)
The heart of it all: TikTok’s algorithm learns viewers’ tastes through scrolls, likes, pauses, and watch time.
There’s the rub, right there.
I am confident on Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. Apple Store, and Google Play will remove the TikTok app from their libraries. For those that have it downloaded already, we can continue to use it without security updates, and until the app becomes glitchy and simply doesn’t work anymore.
Just like the end of the Truman Show [SPOILER ALERT!] America would change the channel to move on to something else. TikTok had a 7-year run; that’s quite impressive.
… and someone / some corporation will be inspired by TikTok’s success that they will duplicate it perfectly, under a new name, and by an American corporation which was the linchpin of the upheld law.
I’m curious to see what happens. All of us will know on Sunday!
los, Fil-Am Renaissance Man 