TikTok users are feeling manipulated after the app went dark late Saturday night, only to be reinstated on Sunday in a seemingly coordinated publicity effort between the app and the Trump administration. The move frustrated users, but also left most people still in the dark about the state of the TikTok ban.
So where exactly are we now?
To be sure, TikTok is still on the chopping block after courts refused to intervene. President Biden declined to enforce the law in his final days in office (a technically dubious decision, but one that didn't meet much resistance thanks to it going in effect a day before he left office). Trump signaled his intent not to enforce the ban or punish companies that didn't comply with the law, either.
But now we have a bit more clarity on the timeline. President Trump signed an executive order that extends the deadline for the ban by 75 days. This same order extends the timelines for other apps like CapCut and Lemon8. Immensely popular mobile game Marvel Snap also went dark around the same time (to the surprise of just about everybody) thanks to being owned by a subsidiary of ByteDance.
While TikTok is back online, there are still some features and functions of the app that are down. Probably because when you decide to shut off access to an app all of sudden as part of a political ploy, there will be unforeseen ramifications to the app's backend.
That said, the law still applies and barring a new law from Congress that overturns the old one, if 75 days pass with no new developments, TikTok would seemingly again leave the U.S.
Anybody concerned with TikTok's immediate availability will be happy they can log in. But to be completely clear here — Trump can't just not enforce the ban and even his promise not to penalize those who break the law is on questionable ground.
In other words, we can't just have nothing happen. So, here are some scenarios that have been floated.
In true American tech consolidation style, a competitor like Meta could step in to buy TikTok and further consolidate its power. While this would normally likely trigger an investigation by the federal government that could squash the deal for antitrust issues, the Trump administration hasn't really signaled how it would handle antitrust issues this go-around.
While Meta remains the most viable direct competitor, we can't rule out Elon Musk, who also owns X, or Google, who also owns YouTube, taking some sort of stab at acquiring TikTok's U.S. operations.
Other billionaires beyond musk have reportedly thrown their hats in the ring, from Mark Cuban to Kevin O'Leary. In both cases, they would need to put together a whole group of investors to afford TikTok U.S.' price tag, which could be as much as $50 billion — and that's without access to the proprietary algorithm. Cuban has also floated the idea of funding a TikTok alternative.
Not to be outdone, content creator Mr. Beast also posited putting together a group of ultra wealthy to buy the platform, though that bid seems less likely.
Probably the most troublesome potential acquisition, Trump suggested a "joint venture" in which the United States government had 50 percent ownership of TikTok. Now, state-sponsored media is a bit of a foreign concept in North America, where there are currently zero outlets of the sort. But in places where it's more common, government ownership of media outlets rarely leads to a decline in propaganda or misinformation.
To the extent the TikTok ban was actually about fears of foreign misinformation and manipulation, a government-controlled joint venture doesn't really seem to assuage those fears or assert how it would make users any more safe.
The only way to actually get rid of the law is to have the same body of government that created it repeal it. This seems unlikely, but it's still a possibility. The thing is, time isn't on TikTok's side. It took the originally law a year to move through the various machinations of the U.S. government, and while some politicians signaled a change of heart on the matter in the twilight hours of the ban deadline, the smart money is not on this happening, or certainly not with any expediency.
We could see continued deadline extensions, delays, and questionable vows of not enforcing penalties by the current administration. But this gray area also feels unlikely, given the already legally shaky grounds they're on. The original law allowed for a 90 day extension of the 270 day deadline, which Biden opted not to enforce (it was designed to give more time if a deal seemed like it was coming together, which it very much was not). Trump's decision to only extend it 75 days definitely feels like a bit of an ultimatum here, and it's unlikely Trump wants to "save" TikTok as much as he wants it to be controlled by parties friendly to his administration. In that sense, continually extending this legal limbo doesn't seem advantageous.
It's still completely within the realm of possibility that TikTok does shut down in the United States. This extension doesn't really mean much beyond more time to wonder what's going to happen next when it comes to users. And, truthfully, we have no idea if TikTok will even be as powerful as it was if it changes hands, especially without the algorithm. Users should absolutely still prepare for a future without this app — and potentially many others.
Mixed up in the hubbub of it all, RedNote has made some notable strides to be more friendly to English speakers. Now with millions of American users, many of whom signaled no intention to leave the platform, RedNote seems to be hanging around the conversation. Even if it's still many developments away from being even remotely close to as financially powerful as TikTok is for Americans.
Instagram also announced it's releasing an editing app called Edits to directly compete with CapCut, which will also find itself out in the cold if it's not sold.
And just one more thing to note — no matter what happens with all of this, the most important thing is to remember to stay platform agnostic and try to own the communication channels with your audience as much as possible. No, it won't replace virality opportunity, but it will ease financial concerns when you feel dependent on one particular channel to stay afloat.
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