The political clock’s doomsday countdown on TicTok’s fate exploded Friday. A unanimous Supreme Court upheld the federal law banning the social media video app across America.
Effective Monday, the very day Donald Trump becomes president again, app stores and cloud hosting services must comply with the law or face penalties up to $5,000 per user.
Still, users possessing the app can continue to use it for the time being. Eventually, the app will phase out.
Short notice, for sure. But not a surprise.
Congress passed and President Biden signed the novel law this past April, allowing TicTok owner ByteDance, a Chinese company, 270 days to sell the app or face the consequences.
Cries of protest quickly arose from users, the majority of them young people who populate the app constantly with funky dance routines and other self-indulgences. Scams and harmful influences flow freely.
Many small businesses also use TicTok to promote their products. The huge audience is alluring.
Strong fears of the Chinese government’s ability to exploit Americans personal data that could endanger national security drove the bipartisan political decision to approve the ban. Parents flooded lawmakers with mixed views.
Instead of complying with the Jan. 19 deadline to sell TicTok, ByteDance sued the government on grounds the law violated its First Amendment’s right to free speech. The Supreme Court fast-tracked the case, ruling the threat to national security was more important.
“Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TicTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” the court said. “We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
Trump, who initially supported the ban, is now a supporter of TicTok. He’s considering an executive order to delay the law until a solution short of a ban can be found. The courts may decide if he can postpone implementation.
The law provides for a 90-day extension of the ban deadline if the president determines ByteDance has made progress toward a sale.
That doesn’t appear to be the case. TicTok has said as a global outlet, it cannot fence off the company’s U.S. technology from the rest of its operation. The Chinese government has also said it won’t permit a sale.
Still, Trump does not want to fall out of favor with TicTok’s American users, which the app claims number 170 million monthly — more than one-third of the country’s population.
Habitual users include the pop and bro-culture crowd that helped elect him when he declared late in his election campaign he would strive to save TicTok.
There is a common thread to the enslaving nature of TicTok. Everyday users and influencers binge on its popularity, causing parents, medical experts and educators to worry about the side effects of dependence on the app.
Stories about social alienation as a way of life for some users are worrisome. “I would lose all by friends,” one young woman said on national television this week if TicTok is banned.
Social acceptability is important on TicTok. So too the number of followers a user aggregates with video antics. Going viral is a big deal.
Some social scientists consider social media in general a serious societal issue because of its impact on how people think and act.
Getting hooked on TicTok, they say, is similar to addiction to stimulants. Kicking the habit can be harrowing.