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The House has taken a key step toward banning TikTok in the US
Legislators are threatening a ban if the app isn’t sold by its China-based owner
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is one of the most popular social media apps in the US. Some statistics indicate that as many as 170 million people in the US use the video platform, but it isn’t without concern. For example, nearly one-quarter of daily TikTok users worry that the Chinese government is actually gaining access to their personal information. Now, US legislators are voicing similar concerns, and they are taking action. The US House has voted in favor of ByteDance selling TikTok, and the app could be banned altogether if the company does not comply.
Is TikTok safe? What you need to know
TikTok bans are on the rise around the world: Is it still safe for you to use? Here's what's going on
Rumors and reports are everywhere about TikTok these days. You've probably heard discussions about if the video app is dangerous, if it spreads misinformation, if kids are addicted to it, if it's a tool of the Chinese government, and on and on. But what are the facts? Who is actually banning TikTok, and why are they doing it? And should you use TikTok or let your family use it?
Biden revokes Trump's order to ban TikTok and WeChat
They’ll still face scrutiny from the US Department of Commerce
While the executive order by Donald Trump to ban TikTok and WeChat never came into force, the Biden administration has revoked it in favor of evidence-based investigations of foreign-controlled applications that could pose a security risk to Americans and their data.
TikTok may have narrowly avoided being banned in the US for the time being, but it couldn't escape the iron judgment of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. This morning, the PTA issued an announcement that after multiple warnings to the viral video app, it is banning the service until better moderation practices against immoral and indecent content are enacted.
The U.S. government threatened to ban TikTok and WeChat if no suitable U.S. company bought it, and even though TikTok and Oracle just recently signed a deal as "trusted tech partners," that apparently wasn't enough. The U.S. Commerce Department today shared that TikTok and WeChat will not be available for download from U.S. app stores anymore starting Sunday, September 20, confirming the initial announcement on August 6.
Individual users won't face penalties under Trump's WeChat ban
The Justice Department isn't targeting personal or business usage of the app
As part of the Trump administration's crackdown on Chinese apps, the US government is set to ban all transactions with Tencent, the owner of WeChat, beginning on September 20. As that deadline approaches, the US Justice Department has issued a filing clarifying that it does not plan to penalize individual WeChat users themselves as part of the ban.
YouTube is the latest company that thinks it's TikTok
Launching a new experience for short videos — as an early beta, of course
YouTube has always been the premier destination to watch music videos, skits, and how-tos, but consumers of shorter content found themselves drawn to competing apps. YouTube copied Instagram stories previously, and this new functionality seems targeted to TikTok teens. Now that TikTok's future is uncertain, YouTube is announcing the launch of Shorts, a new way to create and share videos of 15 seconds or less.
Oracle beats out Microsoft to buy TikTok's US operations
The deal reportedly won't be structured as an outright 'sale,' though
Oracle has been selected to purchase TikTok's US operations over Microsoft — though, according to The Wall Street Journal, the deal won't be structured as a sale. Minutes before the news broke, Microsoft revealed that it wouldn't be involved in any deal even though it reportedly had Trump's blessing ahead of the app's anticipated ban.
China doesn't want TikTok sold to a US company — this is how it plans to stop a deal
TikTok's algorithms fall under a list of exports that must first be approved by the Chinese officials
TikTok rocketed further into the mainstream in July, when President Trump indicated that his administration would like to see TikTok banned, and later sold off, over alleged privacy concerns stemming from parent company ByteDance being headquartered in China. Big players like Microsoft are interested in making a deal to keep the popular short video platform alive, but sources inside the Chinese government claim the country would rather see TikTok die off in the US rather than be pressured into selling.
TikTok files suit against Trump administration over US ban
Trump’s executive order to ban TikTok comes into force in late September
Read update
TikTok’s US ban, combined with similar restrictions in India, is seriously affecting the service's ability to reach markets with hundreds of millions of users. As we hear about players like Microsoft or even Oracle showing interest in taking charge of the US side of things, TikTok itself has been gearing up for a fight. Following reports that TikTok was planning to challenge the executive order, the company has now announced its suit against the Trump administration.
Due to the impending TikTok ban in the US, Microsoft (and Twitter) is already in talks with parent company ByteDance and interested in purchasing the US portion of the business — that would likely be the only way a ban could be averted. Now it looks like another player has entered the field, as the Financial Times reports that Oracle is also interested in purchasing the hit social network.
The US government is 'looking at' banning TikTok and other Chinese apps
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said as much in an interview with Fox News
India just banned its citizens from accessing TikTok, CamScanner, WeChat, and 56 other popular Chinese apps last month, and it looks like the practice is already drawing international interest. In an interview with Fox News, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US government is "looking at" imposing a ban on Chinese social media apps like TikTok. The comment follows further international isolation of China and companies based in the country, as the UK is now also looking into restricting Huawei from working on its internet infrastructure.