Not possible to remove the adverb.
Late Saturday night,
Americans found TikTok unusable. They received a message saying the app had
disconnected and to "remain tuned."
"The U.S. has ordered a
regulation that forbids TikTok. 'That implies you can't use TikTok now,' the
message read with a tone of regret. The Apple and Google Play stores also have
no access to the app. This includes Lemon8 and CapCut, which are also owned by
TikTok's parent, ByteDance."
TikTok's choice to close the
app, as it had warned, ended a brief period of uncertainty. Also, it disrupts
TikTok's 170 million American users. Many use the app for hours daily for news,
entertainment, and community. Some also use it to make money.
But TikTok is now dull. So
the choice to quit may not be final.
Truth be told, it might last
for only two or three dozen hours.
The way to reestablish.
President-elect Trump told
NBC News he will delay the TikTok ban for 90 days after he starts work on
Monday. Also, Trump said the declaration could come on his most memorable day
in office.
"Assuming I conclude to
do that, I'll most likely declare it on Monday," he said.
Such a declaration could
prompt a political triumph for Trump with America's youth. Trump upheld a
TikTok boycott in his first term as president. Recently, he has said he wants
to keep the app alive. He posted on Truth Social Sunday morning: "SAVE
TIKTOK!" Last month, he asked the High Court to pause the law. His
incoming administration wanted a way to keep TikTok for Americans. The High
Court maintained the law on Friday.
TikTok spoke to Exaggerate
in its pop message on the app, advising clients that it is inaccessible in the
U.S.
"We are lucky. A pop-up
message from the organization said, "President Trump will work with us to
restore TikTok once he gets to work." "Kindly stay tuned!"
Also, TikTok Chief Shou Bite
praised Trump in a video. It responded to the organization's High Court
misfortune on Friday. He said, "We are thankful to have a president who
understands our foundation. He has used TikTok to share his views, connecting
with the world and getting over 60 billion views."
In a December interview at
Mar-a-Lago, Trump said TikTok helped his political success.
"I have a warm spot in
my heart for TikTok," Trump said, then claimed to have won the youth vote
by a large margin. "Also, there are those who say that TikTok has
something to do with it."
The law banning TikTok
passed in Congress, citing public safety. A 2023 Seat Exploration Center
overview found that some Americans supported the boycott. But it showed that
younger generations often disagreed with it.
At a leader's request, Trump
could defer the boycott for 90 days. This would give TikTok's parent,
ByteDance, a chance to find an American owner. That could be great news for
TikTok's partners. They include Prophet, which has TikTok's US content. Also,
Apple and Google have the app in their stores. The law could fine those
organizations $5,000 for each person using TikTok after the boycott starts on
Sunday.
Not a durable arrangement.
The app going dull marks
years of work to block US access to TikTok. This is due to public safety concerns
about its China-based owner, ByteDance. Last April, President Biden signed a
law. It gave ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok to a US or allied owner or face
a ban.
So, it doesn't matter if
Trump promises to end the boycott. He can't fix a regulation passed by Congress
and backed by a president's request. Trump could promise not to install the
boycott. But that implies that profits, apples, and researchers will face huge
challenges. They will still break the law, even if someone promises them no
punishment.
That is the reason TikTok
shut down in any case. The Biden administration said it would hand over to the
incoming Trump team. But a source close to TikTok reports that "various
basic service providers" warned it. They feared the boycott might be
upheld starting Sunday.
For instance, Apple
announced on Sunday that it removed TikTok from its app store due to the
boycott. The app will be accessible to clients who downloaded it before. But
they cannot download it once they erase it.
"The organization said that
Apple will follow the rules where it works. According to the Safeguarding
Americans from Unfamiliar Foe Controlled Applications Act, Byte Dance Ltd. It
said, "Starting January 19, 2025, US clients can't download or update any
apps, including TikTok, CapCut, and Lemon8, on the App Store.""
The
drawn-out fix
The main solutions for
keeping TikTok online seem to be: 1) pass a new law to replace the old one.
This won't be easy, as the current bill has wide bipartisan support; or 2)
force a deal with a buyer.
Two likely buyers have made
offers for the app. One is a group led by billionaire Honest McCourt and
"Shark Tank's" Kevin O'Leary. The other is the AI web crawler Perplexity.
Other parties have also shown interest in TikTok.
Byte Dance, in any case, has
for some time been unyielding that it in no way wants to sell. TikTok's secret
power is its addictive algorithm. It keeps users hooked on the app. Every other
social media app envies its success. So, it is hard to put a price on such a
valuable product.
McCourt's buyer group will
buy TikTok's US assets, but not its algorithm. They will then revamp the app.
But tech giants like Meta and YouTube have long tried to copy TikTok's popular
algorithm. They failed. O'Leary said that he met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago to
discuss the application.
Deviating from the US
version of TikTok may mean the world must download a new app to access US
users' content. But Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported last week
that China is considering a deal with Elon Musk.
Musk might have the assets
to buy the app. He's a Trump ally and will have a minor role in his
administration. In any case, it's muddled that he would need to, and he has not
made any public remarks about the reports.
If Byte Dance decides to
connect, Trump could argue he has made progress on a deal. This legal edge
would let him switch the boycott to allow the deal process to start.
But that is a brief measure.
The deal would at last have to go through. Up to that point, TikTok's future
will remain a lot in uncertainty.
