TikTok has been the talk of town for the last week because of uncertainty about its future, which has resulted from legal battles with the US government.
The government wanted the app banned because of national security concerns unless ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, sold it to a US entity.
The video-sharing app went dark for a day after the Supreme Court upheld a nationwide ban. However, incoming US President Donald Trump intervened to bring it back online at the last minute.
On Friday, January 17th, 2025, after hearing arguments for over two and a half hours, US Supreme Court judges upheld the controversial TikTok ban. Two days later, over 170 million TikTok users in the US woke up to a message that the app was unavailable.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” read TikTok’s message to users trying to access the app on Saturday.
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US lawmakers have long frowned upon TikTok, citing national security concerns. They wanted ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok and several other companies, to sell the social media app to a US entity. Failure to divest the app would result in a nationwide ban in the United States.
Last Spring, President Biden signed the legislation into law. The new law demanded that ByteDance sell TikTok to an American owner or face a ban, effective January 19th, 2025.
TikTok has actively used legal avenues to prevent the ban. The company had filed a lawsuit arguing that the impending ban infringes on free speech rights and would harm millions of American users and businesses.
In response, judges maintained that Congress was okay with user’s free speech on the app but not with foreign adversaries gathering information on the app’s users.
The TikTok ban took effect on Saturday night, and users woke up on Sunday to find the app inaccessible. The week leading to the ban had seen millions of users and creators panic over the uncertainty of their future on the social media app.
Influencers and creators shared their handles on alternative platforms like Instagram and YouTube, hoping to retain their following and source of income.
Is TikTok US Back Online?
Millions of US users can now access the app’s content after President Trump promised to issue an executive order delaying the nationwide ban.
The delay will allow the US government and TikTok to reach an agreement that could allow the app to stay operational in the US.
However, TikTok’s US operations are still at risk, as the law only provides a 90-day extension to allow negotiations. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, US laws allow the President to grant a one-time extension of 90 days with certain conditions.
In the case of TikTok, Trump is allowed to grant the app the extension if he can certify to Congress that:
- There is a path to divestiture
- There is a significant progress towards executing the divestiture
- Relevant legally binding agreements are in place to enable the execution of such qualified divestiture during the extension.
Ultimately, TikTok’s future in the United States depends on ByteDance’s decision to sell the company’s full or partial ownership to an American entity. Trump seems to have a soft spot for the app, which he credits for giving him part of his recent victory.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok. [ I] won the youth by 34 points, and some say that TikTok had something to do with it,” said Trump.
The extension seems like a temporary solution, as companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft favor the Supreme Court decision over Trump’s executive order. This has manifested in the platforms’ failure to host and service the TikTok app in their stores.
The app will eventually become unusable in the US without availability in app stores’ security and software updates. Unless a long-lasting solution is found and an agreement is reached, TikTok’s operations in the US remain uncertain.
How to Use TikTok in the US?
TikTok is back online, and users who still have the app on their devices can log in and watch their favorite videos.
What if you had uninstalled the app from your device? How do you install and use TikTok again?
The TikTok app remains unavailable in the US Apple and Google Play Stores. Luckily, there is a workaround- Using a reliable VPN.
With a VPN, you can continue to enjoy TikTok’s skincare, pet videos, opinions, dance challenges, and other content.
Please follow the below steps to use TikTok in the US even after the ban:
1. Get/Purchase a powerful VPN.
A good VPN will help you bypass the restrictions on the TikTok app in the United States. ExpressVPN is our best recommendation because of its global network of high-speed servers and world-class security features.
2. Download the VPN app on your device.
Go to Google Play or the App Store and install the VPN app on your device. Sign in with your details and connect to a server in a country where TikTok is not banned. For example, you can connect to a server in the UK or Mexico.
3. Create a new app store account.
If you try to access TikTok from a server outside the US with your old account details, it will not work. You need to appear like a user from that country, and you can even use an alias. Ideally, you should create a new account using a new name.
4. Install TikTok on your device.
You can install the TikTok app on your device while still connected to the VPN server and using the new app store account.
5. Sign Up for a new TikTok account.
Using your old account, one registered with a US phone number or email address can make it hard to access and use TikTok in the US. Sign up for a new TikTok account tied to your chosen country on the VPN server. Alternatively, you can browse TikTok as a guest.
That’s all you need to use TikTok in the US after the ban.
Note: Keep your VPN connected whenever you’re using TikTok.
These workarounds will work for a while, probably as long as the US government doesn’t discover how users are working around to continue using TikTok. Even better, TikTok could reach an agreement with the US authorities, meaning you’d have full legal access to the app in the future, just like before.
It would be reinstated on app stores, and software updates would be available.
Until then, that’s how TikTok is used in the US.
As TikTok’s future remains beyond our control, we hope a solution will be found soon. Stay tuned for new developments in the US saga of the TikTok ban.
The Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on TikTok Ban
According to the US Supreme Court ruling on the nationwide ban, TikTok is illegal in the United States as of January 19th, 2025. This has caused several repercussions on the app, starting with the shortlived offline status for US creators and consumers.
While the app is back online for most users following an intervention by the incoming government, TikTok’s future in the US remains uncertain. The temporary lift on the ban was effected following an agreement between Donald Trump and TikTok leadership.
However, legal concerns continue to hover over companies associated with TikTok, including app stores like Apple App Store and Google Play. While users can now access the app’s content, they can’t update it because the app stores are obligated to withhold these services by the law. Also, only users with the app on their devices can continue accessing TikTok. Those who had uninstalled the app can’t reinstall it because it’s currently unavailable in these stores.
App stores are following orders from US authorities, which warned that companies that host, distribute, service, and facilitate ‘communist-controlled TikTok’ could face billions of dollars in liability lawsuits.
Following TikTok’s service restoration, US Senator Tom Cotton had this to say via X,
“Any company that hosts, distributes, services or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DoJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about it.”
The Senator further revealed that for TikTok to return fully legally, it must agree to a sale or divestiture.
TikTok’s Current Status and Future Implications
Just a day after going dark in the United States, TikTok seems to have restored service. In a statement on X, the company thanked the newly elected US President Trump for providing ‘necessary clarity and assurance to service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.’
Amidst the legal struggle between the Supreme Court’s ruling and Trump’s last-minute intervention, users still wonder what the future holds for TikTok in the United States. ByteDance is unwilling to divest from TikTok operations in the US but maintains that it is working on a long-lasting solution with Trump.
“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” read a statement from TikTok.
On the other hand, President Trump has pleaded with companies not to let TikTok remain dark. He has assured citizens that he will follow through with his plan to have TikTok make a deal that will lead to a win-win situation.
Through Truth Social, he said, ‘Without U.S approval, there is no TikTok, but he will issue an executive order to extend the time before the law’s prohibitions take effect.”
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to stay up. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars-may be trillions,” said Trump.
Is ByteDance Willing to Let Go of TikTok?
Some outlets have suggested that Elon Musk might negotiate a deal to buy TikTok’s US operations. These reports remain speculative, and TikTok has dismissed the allegations as “pure fiction.”
Several other investors have publicly shown interest in buying the video-sharing app. Mr Beast, a famed YouTube star and businessman, shared via X that he ‘will buy TikTok after meeting with a bunch of billionaires.’
“Okay, fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned,” he shared via X.
Other notable entities interested in TikTok include Kevin O’Leary, Frank McCourt, Bobby Kotick, Amazon, Rumble, and Perplexity AI.
All negotiation claims remain rumors because ByteDance and TikTok have not officially confirmed the news.
RedNote and Its Significance in TikTok’s Legal Woes
Following the news of an impending TikTok ban in 2025, American TikTok users mass-migrated to RedNote, a Chinese app that resembles TikTok. The users have flocked to RedNote, also called Xiaohongshu, calling themselves TikTok Refugees.
RedNote gained over 700,000 new users and was the most downloaded app on Monday, the day after TikTok went offline.
RedNote, founded in 2013, is a lifestyle and online shopping app with over 300 million users, primarily from Mandarin-speaking countries like China and Taiwan. Like Instagram, RedNote focuses on photo and video sharing. Popular topics on the platform include travel, shopping, dining recommendations, and personal content.
RedNote is similar to TikTok in that it lets users passively scroll without posting content.
However, RedNote taps into the user’s desire to shop online and discover new products. It is also in Mandarin, which creates a language barrier for non-Mandarin speakers. Content consumption is also tricky because most content focuses on Chinese culture, lifestyle trends, and regional dialects, which may not resonate with American audiences.
Experts say that this mass migration of American users to RedNote could lead to the app facing the same fate as TikTok. As Americans engage with these Chinese apps, concerns about data security, national security, and surveillance continue to rise.
Following the moves by American social media users to embrace foreign apps like RedNote and TikTok, the US government could introduce stricter regulations on foreign-owned platforms. They will cite data privacy and national security reasons. It also presents fierce competition between Eastern-owned apps and Western-based platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Even if the ban is enforced, you can always use TikTok in the USA with a VPN.
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- How to Choose the Best VPNs for Your Needs
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