TikTok ban live: App will shut down on Sunday unless it is saved, Supreme Court says

The White House has released a statement saying that TikTok should remain available to all Americans, and that the implementation of the law is up to the next administration.

(As a reminder, the ban goes into effect on 19 January, and Donald Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January.)

That means the app will presumably not go dark on 19 January. And it might never: though Trump’s plans are unclear, there is plenty of reason to believe that he is looking at rolling back or at least delaying the ban.

“TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” the White House said in the new statement.

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”

The ban on TikTok will stand, the Supreme Court says. The law does not break the first amendment and therefore will not be overturned.

The president-elect has held a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which he says included a discussion of TikTok. He did not say what the nature of those discussions were.

“The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.

“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”

In about half an hour, the Supreme Court is due to release opinions. That will happen at 10am local eastern time.

We don’t know for sure that it will cover TikTok, as it did not say which cases those will cover. And we definitely don’t know whether it will make a difference: during arguments last week, it seemed as if the court would probably uphold the law and thereby leave the TikTok ban in place.

Trump sees halting the bipartisan TikTok ban as an easy way to show he’s delivering results. He’s probably right.

Read the analysis from John Bowden:

The Chinese government has denied accusations that it is illegally collecting user data. It “has never and will never” require companies or individuals to collect data for or provide data to it in a way that violates the law, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The ministry spokesperson was responding to a question about six Chinese companies including TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi, which have been named in a privacy complaint filed by Austrian advocacy group Noyb claiming the firms were unlawfully sending European Union user data to China.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton opposed an effort to extend TikTok’s ban deadline, saying it posed too great of a threat to allow for any concessions or compromises.

“TikTok isn’t just another social media platform,” Cotton said. “TikTok is a Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative and spreads Communist propoganda.”

His opposition was to Senator Ed Markey’s attempt to introduce legislation that would extend the deadline thus giving TikTok more time to work out a deal or at least allow President-elect Donald Trump to weigh-in.

“No extensions, no concession and no compromises for TikTok,” Cotton said.

China-based RedNote has experienced a huge surge in downloads from users in the US and worldwide as the 19 January deadline for the US TikTok ban approaches.

The app, a mix of Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, is one of the most popular in China and reached the top spot in the UK app download charts this week. Those migrating to the platform, officially called Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book,” have been warmly welcomed. Chinese and Western users collaborate on the app, teaching each other English or Mandarin, helping with homework, or sharing jokes about the looming TikTok ban.

Like TikTok, RedNote is owned by a Chinese company, Xingyin Information Technology. Chartered security expert James Bore says that, like most social media platforms, RedNote prioritises growth and engagement over user privacy. However, the platform’s governance under Chinese law sets it apart.

“The difference is that China has a law that the government must have a stake in companies,” he told The Independent. “This is not a secret, it’s written into Chinese law so that they can overrule things and make sure there’s nothing that threatens the Chinese state. That’s a level of interference in companies that we’re not really used to in the West.”

Cybersecurity expert Rob Pritchard added: “I doubt there is a particular risk to individuals, but the broader implications are interesting. It’s not the effect the US government wanted to achieve, I’m sure.”

When users sign up for RedNote, they must accept terms and conditions presented only in Mandarin, leaving many unaware of what they’re agreeing to.

“I saw the terms and conditions for this app and I just clicked it. I didn’t even try to read that,” said new RedNote user Kelsey Higginbottom in a clip.

TikTok users in the US have reported receiving a warm welcome on other Chinese-owned apps amid a looming ban on the hugely popular social media platform.

China-based Lemon8 and RedNote have both experienced a surge in downloads from US users as the 19 January deadline for the TikTok ban approaches, each topping the app charts.

Anthony Cuthbertson reports: