President Donald Trump told reporters late August 1, “We can ban Tickcock.”
The surprise announcement kicked off a filthy saga that is approaching the end. Trump Trump signed an executive order that sought to ban Tiktok in 45 days due to national security concerns until it sold its American works to a US owner.
Tiktok has been implicated in a frenzy of takeover bids from some of the biggest tech giants, a lawsuit against the Trump administration, and an avalanche of controversial events such as his CEO’s departure after a four-month-long tenure – all the while between the US and China Dealing with the repetitions of being stuck in the midst of a geopolitical deadlock.
The deadline to sell TikTok’s operations is on Tuesday, with no deal yet approved. Microsoft, which was thought to be at the forefront with Walmart, has confirmed that Bytens has rejected its bid. This leaves Oracle, which reportedly reached a deal to acquire Tiktok’s US business, but has not been confirmed.
Nevertheless, the deadline itself is blurred. Trump’s executive order set a deadline of 20 September – followed by an extension that pushed the date to 12 November. But in public demonstrations, Trump has continued to claim that Tikok would be banned if a sitter was not found before September 15.
“We will either discontinue TikTok in this country for security reasons or it will be sold. 15 September. There will be no extension of the Tiktok deadline.
So what would a TikTok ban mean? Will the video app simply stop working once the deadline passes without a deal?
What exactly will happen if Trump bans Tickcock?
Trump, in his August 6 executive order, declared the operation of the video app a national emergency and accused him of spying on US citizens by giving millions of users access to “personal and proprietary information”.
The order prohibits any US business or in-person dealings with BuyDance, a China-based startup that owns Tiktok and its subsidiaries.
What really entangles remains unclear. The document does not define these transactions and instead, states after the 45-day deadline, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross “will identify the transaction.”
But the order is similar to the one the Trump administration prepared against Huawei last year. The US banned US companies from doing business with Huawei due to alleged security issues and ordered them to end their current relationship.
To do this in Tickcock’s case, the United States Department of Commerce may place beatings on the “entity list” that would eventually cut off the commercial ties of all Chinese startups.
It is possible that Google and Apple will be obliged to take TikTok from their mobile app store if the ban goes into effect and advertising companies may have to withdraw their campaigns on TikTok’s newborn, yet the ad network is flourishing .
On existing phones, Tiktok may have to block access to its services in the US, depending on device area and location. An internal White House document obtained by Reuters in August suggested a similar set of restrictions.
TikTok is also in the midst of building a series of revenue-focused, partner programs. A few days ago, it announced its new marketing program, and last year, launched a developer SDK with partners such as Adobe. These initiatives could be discontinued – at least in the US – if the app is banned.
Although an app store ban could significantly affect Tiktok’s business, it would leave space for users to sideload the app through alternative, informal sources. Apple restricts this method too much on iOS, but it is fairly straightforward on Android. To prevent this, there is a chance Trump requests network carriers and involves the Federal Communications Commission to bar TikTok’s network traffic and properly remove links from the source.
This will be a major step for the Internet. The US runs one of the most democratic models for the Internet and has never censored an app before. For example, China is on the opposite end of the spectrum and blocks many foreign services such as Facebook and YouTube.
But given the rapidly increasing role in politics, now many countries have gradually turned to a more controlled Internet. India is an example of this and in June earlier this year, it banned TikTok (and later, PUBG Mobile) extensively and blocked it in app stores as well as network carriers. The only way to use TikTok in India now is through its website and that too, through a VPN.
India has an official law banning materials and is a threat to national security. America is not, but we will not rule out its possibility yet.
So does this mean that a significant portion of Ticketcock’s capabilities will expire on 16 September?
Will Tittock be closed this week?
It is difficult to say, but it is unlikely to happen immediately. There are two routes through which Beatens can also win an extension.
Trump’s order against Tickcock can be accused of being written too hastily without the necessary nuances.
Once the deadline has passed, the US may draft a more detailed version of the Tickcock ban order and prepare and wrap up its internal contracts and partnerships before pulling the plug-in for Beatens and its partnering American May grant weeks or notices to both companies.
He will potentially give Bytens more time to make his case in court and move forward with his ongoing trial. If anything, the court can ask the Trump administration to present evidence (which it has not done so far) and temporarily block the executive order from leaving Tallotk.
Of course, it all depends on China’s approval as well.
Last month, in a twist of the 11th hour, China updated its list of technologies that are subject to export restrictions to add “data-based personal information services recommendations” – the Tickcock algorithm, essentially Tickcock. Is the cornerstone of viral success and the piece of software that powers the infinite vertical feed of the app.
Barring TikTok’s algorithm, a deal and app valuation and recent rumors can be seriously understood that BiTence may not ultimately sell. Last week, Reuters also reported that China would rather shut down Tickcock altogether than to approve forced sales. Therefore, rather than being in this myriad of regulatory complexities, there is a scenario where beatings only retracts and a number of its growing rivals such as Instagram reels take their place in the US
Whatever the outcome, it is clear that TicTalk will never be the same. Even if a deal were to occur, there is a possibility that TickTock would move separately in the US and be cut off from the rest of the world – due to a serious drop in viewership for creators and advertisers.
With competitors such as Instagram and Triller actively investing to cash in on the situation, Tittock may have to lose his lead even if he manages to avoid the ban. We’ve reached out to TikTok and Oracle for more information and we’ll update the story when we hear back.
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