Due to concerns about National Security, Social Media Platform “TikTok” was removed from all U.S. app stores Jan. 19, and ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) were prohibited from allowing access within the U.S., but went back online less than 24 hours after being shut down.
“As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S,” TikTok said in a message users found within the app after restoring service within the U.S.
Despite service for TikTok Being Restored, Apple’s App Store on IOS and the Google Play Store on Android have not resumed downloads for the app.
“Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements,” Google Play Store said when users searched for TikTok.
TikTok can still be downloaded on Android through an APK file (Android Package File) and can still be accessed on IOS through Tiktok.com, despite not being able to download the app.
“If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device,” Apple Support said here.
The bill that allowed this is H. R. 7521, or the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.” This bill allows the president to determine anything operated directly or indirectly by a foreign adversary to be deemed a Foreign Adversary Controlled Application.
“The sell-or-be-banned approach has raised concern among advocates for digital rights that the United States may be undermining its role in promoting an open and free internet that is not controlled by individual countries,” New York Times Writers Sapna Maheshwari and Amanda Holpuch said in an article about the ban.
Some students disagreed with the ban for various different reasons, like the first amendment, and think it shows how out of touch congress was with the decision.
“I knew the ban wasn’t going to last long,” sophomore Jessyn Ramos said. “I thought the fact that it even happened was stupid.”
Despite the bill, on Jan. 13, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) of the 119th Congress announced his plan to introduce a bill to extend the ban by 270 days called the “Extend The TikTok Deadline Act” found here but it failed to pass before the ban went through on Jan. 19.
“Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems,” Markey said in his floor remarks. “Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior. But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
TikTok appealed the bill shortly after it was signed into law by President Biden April 24, 2024 but lost its first appeal to the D.C Circuit Court after a decision was reached on Dec. 6.
“Congress judged it necessary to assume that risk given the grave national-security threats it perceived,” The D.C Circuit Court’s conclusion said. “And because the record reflects that Congress’s decision was considered, consistent with longstanding regulatory practice, and devoid of an institutional aim to suppress particular messages or ideas, we are not in a position to set it aside.”
After losing its appeal in the circuit court, TikTok appealed to SCOTUS (Supreme Court Of The United States) with a hearing occurring Jan. 10. However on Jan. 17, a decision was reached ruling against TikTok.
“Neither the prohibitions nor the divestiture requirement, moreover, is ‘substantially broader than necessary to achieve’ this national security objective,” SCOTUS’s opinion said.