Earlier this year, everyone was upset about the US ban on TikTok.
But when the ban went to court, everyone moved on.
Well, the ban is back. Where is it?
Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the law, citing national security concerns and rejecting TikTok parent company ByteDance’s argument that the ban violates the constitutional right to free speech .
The decision paves the way for American users lose access to TikTok on January 19.
But not so fast.
What is really happening? What’s likely to happen before you lose the dance videos, dog memes, and general ridiculousness of TikTok — and one of the most powerful marketing and commerce platforms of the last decade?
As time passes, we asked Robert Rose, CMI’s Chief Strategic Advisor, for his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say:
Court: TikTok is not a First Amendment issue
Time is running out on TikTok and ByteDance.
Justice Douglas Ginsburg laid down the law in his decision upholding the TikTok divestiture. In the decision, he wrote“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here, the government acted solely to protect that freedom against a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to collect data about people in the United States.
Translation: It’s complicated.
Of course, TikTok’s lawyers countered: saying the ban “will silence the voices of more than 170 million Americans here in the United States and around the world on January 19, 2025.”
And let’s be real: how will the world survive without endless cat videos and questionable tricks?
First Amendment issues aside, TikTok has become a marketing, advertising, and e-commerce juggernaut. I’ve talked many times about how B2C and B2B marketers are seeing real engagement, real success, and real dollars using TikTok.
Don’t believe the January 19 deadline
In the spring, I spared you the reading of the bill and describes what was happening. And this time I have to say that many media still do not communicate what is really happening. They make January 19 seem like a line in the sand, after which all access to the network will be blocked. This is simply not true.
The January 19 date is 270 days after the bill was signed into law – the deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok. But TikTok filed an emergency injunction to prevent the ban from taking effect.
Honestly, this was always going to happen, even without the interesting fact that Donald Trump, who said on the campaign trail that he opposed the ban, will take office on January 20th. Let’s talk about timing.
Back in March, I said TikTok was unlikely to go anywhere, and I still believe it.
The January 19 date could be postponed by the courts, America’s infrastructure might not be able to block the site, or President Trump might intervene before the Inauguration Day dinner. In any case, a TikTok conclusion will not be made in the coming months.
So if you’re thinking about leaving or entering TikTok, take a breath. Give it a few weeks. I think everything will be fine.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
