On January 19, 2025, a law came into force in the United States of America that prohibits the use of the TikTok application in the country, writes the Industrial Zaporozhye website. This decision was the result of lengthy discussions regarding national security and user data protection.
Reasons for banning TikTok in the USA
The main reason for the ban on TikTok in the US is national security concerns. US lawmakers have expressed concern that the Chinese company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, could be transferring data from American users to the Chinese government. This could potentially provide an opportunity to collect sensitive information and influence public opinion through the platform's algorithms.
Legislative measures and court decisions
In April 2024, the US Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok's US segment by January 19, 2025, or cease operations in the country, People.com reports. On January 17, 2025, the US Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law, finding it constitutional and not violating the First Amendment, despite TikTok's significant role in expressing opinions and forming communities for 170 million American users.
Administration's response and future prospects
Despite President Joe Biden signing the law, his administration has said it has no immediate plans to implement it, leaving the issue for the next administration to consider, the WSJ reported. President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his desire to resolve the situation, noting that TikTok played a significant role in his election campaign. He has also suggested a 90-day extension for ByteDance to find a potential buyer, which would avoid the ban.
Impact on users and alternatives
Since the ban came into effect, TikTok has been unavailable to US users, and the app has been removed from the App Store and Google Play. Users who tried to access TikTok received messages stating that the service was temporarily unavailable. In response, many users began to look for alternatives, among which the Chinese app RedNote (Xiaohongshu) has gained popularity. This has led to a surge in interest in learning Chinese among Americans, as evidenced by a 216% increase in new users on the Duolingo platform who started learning Mandarin.
International context and implications
The US ban on TikTok, according to The Atlantic, reflects a broader trend to restrict access to Chinese technology companies due to concerns about data security and influence over the information space. Similar measures were previously taken in India, which banned TikTok in 2020, citing similar reasons. This decision highlights the growing tensions between the US and China over technology and information security.
