If you’re a TikTok user, you’ve probably been keeping up with the news about a potential TikTok ban in the U.S.
To sum up, a law to ban the social media app signed in April requires its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company by January 19th or face a ban in the U.S. A federal appeals court recently upheld the law. Since then, rumors have started that certain U.S. companies are buying the app to keep it available in the U.S. One of those companies is Disney.
Let’s back up a bit: the law to ban TikTok was passed with concerns over national security as ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, is based in China. However, according to The New York Times, a panel of federal judges unanimously upheld the new law that could lead to the popular social media app becoming unavailable in the U.S. in January.
More than 170 million Americans currently use TikTok, so the loss of the app in the U.S. has created a public outcry from users, content creators, and free speech advocates.
Of course, that means a lot of folks are wondering if TikTok will be sold to an American company to save the social media app. Recently, a satire site posted that Disney will buy TikTok, and that’s since become a viral topic on Google. But is it true?
The answer is “NO.” The article in question was satire, and Disney has not expressed any interest in owning a social media platform, much less TikTok. So right now, TikTok’s future is probably going to be in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to take the case and rule by June 2025.
According to Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesman, “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue.”
Before that happens, though, it’s expected that a court-ordered injunction will be issued to pause the law from going into effect. So, if you’re a TikTok user worried about losing the social media app, now is not the time to panic.
Check back with AllEars again soon for more.
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What do you think will happen to TikTok in the U.S.? Share with us in the comments!
There is no way that a conservative SCOTUS with three members appointed by president-elect Trump in his last term in office is going to reverse the ban on a company based in China.