Why is TikTok’s future uncertain? Premium

After taking office as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump signed an order that gave TikTok a 75-day lifeline.

Story so far: On Monday (January 20, 2024), shortly after taking office as the 47th President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump signed an order that gave TikTok a 75-day lifeline. The short-video sharing platform went offline for U.S.-based users just a day earlier following a protracted legal and political battle that ended in a federal ban. TikTok contested the ban and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The apex court heard the case and upheld the ban, making both Google and Apple remove the app from their app stores. Web-hosting platforms were also ordered to cut ties with the platform or face fines as much as $5,000 per user that can access the app after the ban.

The controversial law, ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,’ signed by former President Joe Biden in April, was aimed at blocking apps that are controlled by the U.S.’s foreign adversaries, like China, from operating in the country. It specifically targeted TikTok, which is owned and controlled by ByteDance, a Chinese firm. The goal of the Act is to prevent potential threats to U.S. national security from apps that may be used for espionage, data collection, and other harmful activities.

Under the law, some apps controlled by foreign adversaries can be prohibited from being distributed, maintained, or hosted in the U.S. However, it does allow an exception for apps that undergo a “qualified divestiture,” meaning they can be sold or restructured in a way that reduces foreign control. The bill also excludes apps that are mainly used for posting product reviews, business reviews, or travel information, so these types of applications are not affected by the law.

To enforce the ban, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has been given the authority to investigate and impose penalties on any entity that violates the law. The penalties are determined based on how many users the app has. TikTok has over 170 million U.S.-based users. If the app is banned, users are entitled to request and receive all their account data—like posts, photos, and videos—before the prohibition is enforced, ensuring they don’t lose access to their content.

Any challenge to specific actions or decisions under the law must be made within 90 days of the decision. And legal disputes related to the law will have to be handled exclusively by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Mr. Trump has noted that the timing of this enforcement is problematic as it doesn’t give his administration enough time to adequately assess the national security risks posed by TikTok or to negotiate a solution to address those risks without immediately shutting down the platform. And so, he has directed the Attorney General not to enforce the Act’s provisions for 75 days from the date of the ban order.

During this period, the DoJ is prohibited from imposing penalties on platforms distributing or maintaining the app. This will allow the administration to properly assess national security concerns and find a balanced solution without rushing into a drastic shutdown.