NEW YORK (news agencies) — The U.S. is inching closer and closer to a potential TikTok ban — with the nation’s highest court upholding a law that’s set to halt new downloads of the app starting Sunday. But many questions around what exactly this ban will look like, and whether it will actually be enforced, remain.
That puts millions of users and content creators in limbo — particularly influencers and small business owners who have come to rely on the mega-popular social media platform as a source of income.
Among those individuals is Terrell Wade, a comedian, actor and content creator with 1.5 million followers on TikTok under the handle @TheWadeEmpire. Wade, who has turned his TikTok presence into a full-time job, said he expects “two days of chaos” as the Sunday deadline nears.
“At this point, I really don’t know what to believe,” Wade told media.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law that will ban TikTok unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company before Jan. 19 — ruling that a risk to national security posed by the platform’s ties to China overcomes First Amendment concerns about limiting free speech on and by the app.
A sale does not appear imminent, meaning the ban should go into effect Sunday. But the ruling also arrives just days before the inauguration of a new president.
President Joe Biden’s administration has maintained that TikTok must change its ownership to address national security concerns, but signaled that it won’t enforce the law on Sunday, the Democrat’s final full day in office. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that actions to enforce the law will fall to the new administration due to “the sheer fact of timing.” Meanwhile, Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who once also tried to ban TikTok, has now vowed to preserve access to the platform. But what his options will be following Monday’s inauguration remains unclear.
Among other points of confusion is what a ban on TikTok will look like. Experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users’ devices once the law takes effect. But new users won’t be able to download it and updates will not be available. That will eventually render the app unworkable, the Justice Department said in court filings.
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