The social network TikTok is breathing, again, but... but not for long? This Sunday TikTok has resumed its activity in the United States after Donald Trump announced that he will decree a moratorium on the law against the parent company.
Users of the American platform recovered the application twelve hours after they were unable to access it because of the law decreed by Donald Trump that banned TikTok's activity in the United States. As Europa Press explains, the app did not show videos, only a message saying ‘stay tuned’.
Trump to approve 90-day moratorium to ease TikTok ban
However, today is the day that Trump takes office and he has assured that he will approve an executive order today with a 90-day moratorium to facilitate the avoidance of the TikTok ban. Trump has also proposed as a solution that the company be 50% American-owned: ‘I would like the United States to have 50% ownership in a joint venture. That would save TikTok, keep it in good hands and make it easier for it to continue broadcasting,’ explained President-elect Donald Trump.
Following the recall, Apple and Google removed the TikTok app from their app shops in the US, as they are obliged to comply with laws in the jurisdictions where they operate.
The US executive warned that companies that violate the law could face large financial penalties ‘multiplying $5,000 by the number of users’.
China, for its part, has called on the US government to ‘listen to the voice of reason’. ‘Hopefully the United States will listen carefully to the voice of reason and facilitate an open, equal, fair and non-discriminatory business climate for entities from all countries to operate in the United States,’ said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is adamant that it will not accept buyers for TikTok, although rumours are swirling about who might eventually be chosen to acquire a share of the platform in the US and prevent it from being banned.
And now... What?
If Trump does not lift the ban on TikTok once the 90 days have passed, the most likely way to comply with that law is for the US to order app shops to make TikTok inaccessible for download in the US region.
As the BBC explains, it is likely that new updates will no longer be sent to TikTok users in the US, so failure to fix potential bugs will eventually make the app unusable.
However, Americans who are reluctant to stop using the app have access to many videos that tell users how to use a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear as if the user is in another region.
TikTok's own lawyer told the Supreme Court that he believes the app ‘will be shut down’ in the US.