TikTok defusing failed! U.S. court supports 'no sale, no ban' injunction, what is the danger of TikTok?

The new Trump administration is set to take office on January 20th next year. It was reported earlier that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had sought advice from Tesla CEO and leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Musk on the TikTok ban.

However, regarding the concern that the TikTok ban may involve unconstitutionality (the First Amendment), the US court ruled last Friday that TikTok can be banned in the US due to national security issues. In other words, the unexploded bomb of TikTok’s removal in the US has not been dismantled yet.

TikTok is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, but according to The Wall Street Journal, the justices are not obligated to hear the case.

US court: Government has the right to protect freedom of speech from foreign hostile forces

The en banc panel of three judges at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that Congress has the authority to take action against TikTok to protect US interests. The ruling rejected TikTok’s argument that the ban violated the First Amendment, claiming that it was unconstitutional and infringed on free speech.

In his ruling, Judge Douglas Ginsburg pointed out that ‘the existence of the First Amendment is to protect freedom of speech in the United States. In this case, the government’s actions are solely aimed at protecting this freedom from foreign hostile forces and restricting their ability to collect data from American citizens.’

US President Biden signed the “sell or ban” executive order in April, requiring ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell its US business before January 19, 2025, or face a complete ban. Earlier, after listening to intelligence briefings on how China used TikTok to monitor Americans and spread Chinese propaganda, the bill was passed with bipartisan support.

CEO Shouzi Zhou once sought a solution from Musk

According to The Wall Street Journal, TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming has had discussions with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and leader of the US Department of Efficiency, seeking insights into US technology policies in the weeks following Trump’s victory.

Reports indicate that as the ban on TikTok’s parent company ByteDance takes effect in the US due to national security concerns, Musk is seen as a lifesaver for establishing communication channels with the Trump administration. Zhou, relying on his connections, recently reached out to Musk in the hope of inquiring about the direction of the technology policy of the new Trump administration.

Image source: YouTubeTikTok CEO Zhang Shouzi plans to seek help from Musk, hoping to find a way around the ban in the second term of the Trump administration.

Insiders say that although the specific operation of TikTok in the United States has not been discussed, senior executives of ByteDance are cautiously optimistic about their interaction with Musk, believing that there may be an opportunity to find a way out.

But the question is, why is Musk considered the key player in resolving the TikTok crisis?

Musk becomes an ‘informal communication channel’ for the Sichuan government

The reason is that Musk has recently interacted frequently with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Musk invested about $200 million to support Trump’s campaign during the election and actively participated in the transition team’s work after the election.

According to reports, Musk not only made suggestions for cabinet positions, but also participated in a phone conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. For tech companies, including TikTok, Musk has become an unofficial communication channel for the new government.

Earlier this year, a bill signed by the current US President Biden stipulated that if ByteDance does not divest TikTok business by mid-January 2025, the app will face a ban.

However, ByteDance has insisted on its position of ‘not selling TikTok’s US business’ before the US election, and filed a federal lawsuit in May this year against the bill that required the sale of TikTok, stating that the bill violated users’ freedom of speech, emphasizing that they should be protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution on freedom of speech.

Image source: shutterstock. Musk has become a big hit around Trump. According to foreign media reports, Trump even consults him on cabinet appointments.

When will the TikTok ban take effect? Why is it making a comeback after 4 years?

On March 13, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill with 352 votes in favor and 65 votes against, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok on the grounds of national security, otherwise the app will be banned in the United States. At the same time, the bill grants discretionary power to the U.S. President to decide on the division of apps controlled by adversary countries (China, Russia, North Korea, Iran).

During his previous term in office, Trump signed an executive order in August 2020, requiring ByteDance to divest its TikTok business in the United States within 90 days, citing malicious online behavior posing a national security threat. However, this order faced legal challenges and ultimately did not take effect.

In June 2021, President Biden revoked Trump’s executive order and instructed the Department of Commerce to reassess the impact of Chinese-related applications on US national security.

For supporters of the bill, the ban is aimed at preventing Chinese government from engaging in espionage activities against US users and influencing content. The Federal Appeals Court in Washington, D.C. is expected to make a ruling in early December.

What’s so dangerous about TiKTok?

TikTok, developed by the Chinese company ByteDance, has raised concerns about security and social issues in the United States. The main concerns are cybersecurity and privacy.

Nowadays, many Americans are still concerned that China may use TikTok to capture data from American users, including personal privacy information, backdoor program invasions of national confidential files, or information warfare affecting American politics.

TikTok’s most questioned aspect is the collection of ‘excessive’ data. For example, a report released by the Australian internet company Internet 2.0 in July 2022 pointed out that TikTok collects unnecessary detailed information such as location, calendar, contacts, the device being used, and even which other applications are installed.

In response to user privacy concerns, TikTok provides a series of privacy management tools for users to choose their own settings. It claims that user data is stored in data centers in the United States, Malaysia, and Singapore, and is encrypted and protected during transmission and storage. It also strictly limits employee access to data.

In addition, TikTok’s review of special sensitive content has also attracted attention from the outside world. For example, in 2019, a beauty blogger in the United States called on the audience to search for information about the Xinjiang reeducation camp on TikTok, resulting in the account being suspended for 1 month.

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This article is authorized to be reproduced from: ‘Digital Times’

Original Title: “TikTok Bombing Failed! US Court Supports “Ban if Not Sold” Ban… What is the Danger of TikTok? Why is the United States Facing a Big Enemy?”

Original author: Li Xiantai

“TikTok dismantling failed! US court supports the “ban if not sold” ban. What is the danger of TikTok?” This article was first published in “Cryptocity”.