TikTok Ban live: Updates as the social media platform hangs in the balance

What if we don’t collect?

NBC News is now reporting that the Biden Administration’s plan is to not collect fines when the TikTok ban officially goes into effect on January 19.

This means that while the ban will be real, there will be no penalties to any third party for, say, hosting the app on their platform. Apple’s App Store could keep hosting it without worry. Oracle could keep hosting the data without concern.

If this happens, it leaves time for incoming President Trump to make a new executive order that either gives TikTok an extension or maybe rescinds the whole thing.

None of this is confirmed by White House officials or TikTok. In fact, since ByteDance might still react to the ban going through by pulling its app from US services, Biden’s possible actions might not matter.

There’s also the question of the Supreme Court ruling on whether or not the ban violates TikTok’s First Amendment rights. The lack of a penalty would make that potentially moot.

As usual, nothing is certain and the clock is still tick-tocking.

@nbcnews
♬ original sound – nbcnews

Tell us how you really feel, Tom

That Senator Markey Act seeking to save TikTok I mentioned earlier was swiftly blocked late Thursday afternoon by another legislator, Senator Tom Cotton, who called TikTok a “Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative content and spreads communist propaganda.”

Clearly Cotton is no fan (though it also sounds like he’s never been on the app). He added this denouement which more else less sealed the fate of Markey’s bill: “Let me be crystal clear, there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok”

On brand

If you can’t keep making TikToks (eventually) you make hay, and by hay, I mean a bit of marketing magic. I noticed at least one savvy brand jumping into the TikTok ban fray with a short but clever take.

Wendy’s, the fast food burger chain, hopped on X (formerly Twitter) with a brief post about the state of two tech franchises.

“Can’t believe we’re getting TikTok ban before gta 6,” posted Wendy’s referring to both the impending ban and our very long wait for Grand Theft Auto 6.

According to the latest reports, the fast-paced open-world game won’t arrive until much later this year. That’s 12 years after the last edition. That long wait is what makes Wendy’s tweet so, so funny.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the socials to see what other brands do.

I don’t know about the rest of you but my TikTok usage has skyrocketed in recent days. I think I’m subconsciously trying to consume all of it before it’s gone.

This means I am seeing every single goodbye. The angry ones (a lot), the funny ones (a close second), and the heartbreaking sad ones. People crying, wondering if they can rebuild the community elsewhere.

When I talk about TikTok disappearing, a common refrain is, “So what, people will just go elsewhere and soon forget TikTok ever existed.” They’re only partially correct. It is easy to join Instagram and post Reels, or do the same with YouTube Shorts, but community and audience building takes considerable effort and time, sometimes years.

I think back to when Vine (the 6-second video platform bought by Twitter) shut down. It was devastating and, yes, many former Viners ended up on TikTok but it took years for it to feel like a true – and even better – replacement.

If and when TikTok goes dark in the US, there will be a period of mourning. So allow me these last scrolls; I want to have something to remember TikTok by.

Leave it to…Trump?

Incoming US President Donald Trump has already made his newfound adoration for TikTok clear but now we have evidence that he wants to take an active role in saving the platform.

According to the BBC One of Trump’s top advisors, Congressman Mike Waltz, says Trump will step in if the US Supreme Court decides to uphold the ban (we’re still awaiting its decision).

Trump’s actions will hinge on a clause in the law that allows TikTok a 90-day extension if they’ve made significant progress in a sale. That determination may be up to Trump who could on Monday after he’s inaugurated make that a priority.

That action, though, will come after the ban takes effect. Does TikTok just hold tight and flout the ban for 24 hours or so and wait for Trump to make the save? Third-party partners might not be comfortable with that. They don’t want to end up paying fines, after all.

Again…so many questions.

Senator Markey has other ideas

The most remarkable thing about the looming TikTok ban is its almost universal support across the political spectrum. This appeared to be the only thing Democrats and Republicans agreed on, plus it had the full support of the White House.

In these sharply divided times (at least in the US), no one agrees about anything – except of course about the “dangers” of TikTok.

There is, however, an almost lone voice of dissent. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey has been a staunch Tiktok defender and a relatively new on-platform creator. Yesterday, Se. Markey introduced the “Extend the TikTok Deadline Act” in the Senate. No telling if the bill will go anywhere but you’ve gotta love the guy for flying into the wind.

@senmarkey
♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show

A special guest

Guess who’s coming to President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20? TikTok CEO Shou Chew has an invite, that’s at least according to sources speaking to NBC News.

If Chew attends the ceremony and festivities, he’ll also likely have some sit-down talks with Trump about the future of the platform. Chew’s arrival a day after the ban takes effect might be problematic but then there is a chance that President Joe Biden might issue an exec order stay of execution as he’s walking out the White House doors.

It’s a lot of moving pieces and it’s still unclear what Trump’s invite means and how he really views TikTok. He may still demand a sale to a US company but just give TikTok more time to do it.

A Beast enters the arena

YouTube showman and over-caffeinated philanthropist Mr. Beast (real name James Stephen Donaldson) has produced several TikToks this week saying that he is buying TikTok. The YouTuber is well known for stunts and this may simply be another one.

As I noted earlier ByteDance has never put the platform up for sale but Donaldson appears undaunted.

@mrbeast
♬ original sound – MrBeast

Things we can’t control

I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to get someone at TikTok to go on the record about what’s about to happen and how the US-based team is preparing. No one is ready to talk.

I did, however, attend a TikTok cocktail party after a TikTok 5th annual What’s Next Trend Report session at CES 2025. As I hobnobbed with various TikTok execs, they all expressed the same mood: this is beyond our control. They were cheerful, weirdly positive, and focused on the future, as uncertain as it is.

Most like to focus on the current and continuing positive impact Tiktok has had on countless businesses, from startups to long-established ones. They have plans for them and are still building tools to support them.

As Sofia Hernandez, Global Head of Business Marketing for TikTok said in a release, “In 2024, we saw brands push creative limits, lean into trends, and connect with their communities in powerful ways, but 2025 is set to take it even further.”

I wonder if any are sending frantic notes to ByteDance headquarters begging them to sell the company (ByteDance has always said it has no interest in a sale) but none of that anxiety was in evidence that evening. They’re just doing what they can now and will react to the changes if and when they come.

Kind of like the 150 million US-based TikTok users

#TikTokRefugees

TikTok refugees are already planting flags on what they think are safer shores. Many have joined RedNote, another Chinese app that shares many of TikTok’s features, but adds in Chinese language controls and content for good measure.

I wrote about the phenomenon here and have since counseled many that, while this app looks like fun, it has even less chance of surviving than TikTok. As a true Chinese app, it has none of TikTok’s US data protections. The same goes for Lemon8, which is also owned by TikTok but does not necessarily run in the US.

For the moment, TikTokers seems reluctant to move over to US-based options like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. They may soon have no choice, though.

Biden as rescuer?

Because TikTok’s ban is set to take effect on January 19th, the final day of President Joe Biden’s term and a day before President Trump takes office, there’s been some confusion (and maybe concern) about which US leader would have the final say.

Trump has recently signaled he might be in favor of keeping TikTok alive in the US. Biden hasn’t said much recently about the issue, but now his administration is signaling, if not a change of heart, an interest in a slightly different ban scenario.

According to a report on NBC News, Biden’s office might no longer want TikTok to go dark on the 19th. There may be an interest in deferring the final decision to Trump when he takes office.

The report, however, then all but scuttles that hope, quoting one official who told them, “We are not considering deferring enforcement…Statutorily, we don’t believe we have the authority to do that.”

In other words, no one knows what’s going to happen on Sunday.