TikTok Ban: What is Happening and What is the Impact?

It’s US President Donald Trump’s first day in office and, with plenty of changes expected in the coming days, the fate of TikTok is no exception.
Already, on Monday evening, President Trump signed an executive order granting the Chinese-owned social media app a 75-day extension to comply with a law that requires a sale or ban of the platform.
He has said that the US will not enforce the law passed by Congress last year that was signed by former President Joe Biden.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about TikTok.”
The story so far
TikTok was initially banned in the US after a federal law imposed a mandate on its parent company ByteDance to either sell the app or face a US shutdown. Speaking at the time, the Biden administration stated that TikTok could be used by the People’s Republic of China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
The ban came into effect late on Saturday and became unavailable in the US, which ended up impacting 170 million users.
Those against the ban suggested that freedom of speech should be a valid reason for keeping the platform open in the US.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, TikTok restored US services after his executive order promise.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over seven million small businesses to thrive,” the platform said via a statement.
“It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Trump has now said his executive order will give ByteDance more time to find a US partner to buy a majority stake.
The new President previously supported a TikTok ban, but has now reversed his stance after his election campaign videos garnered billions of views.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won the youth by 34 points,” he said in December 2024. “And there are those that say TikTok had something to do with that.”
The impact on US social media companies
The possible ban of TikTok in the US signals a shift for businesses who rely on the platform to drive business demand.
Organisations use the app for self-promotion, capitalising on viral trends and to gain consumer interest. Our sister publication Supply Chain Digital suggests that supply chains must prioritise agility, technology and consumer trust in order to succeed.
Other social media companies were quick to support Trump after his election victory, including Meta, who is eager to work with the new President to tackle censorship online.
At the start of 2025, Meta moved to axe its fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram to leave users to comment on the accuracy of posts. This echoed a ‘community notes’ strategy that X (formerly Twitter) has adopted to create greater freedom of expression, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“We're going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more," he said, adding that various countries have cracked down on certain speech online.
"The only way that we can push back on this global trend is with the support of the US government.”
As far as China is concerned, the Chinese government in the past stated it would oppose a forced sale of TikTok. However, China’s foreign ministry recently highlighted that companies should “decide independently” about their operations.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew attended Trump's inauguration on Monday, in addition to other big tech execs Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
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