TikTok Ban: An Increasingly Busy Intersection of Tech, Geopolitics and National Security
Dominic F | 3 February 2025
Summary
The U.S. banned TikTok on 19 January, citing national security risks; however, it issued a temporary reprieve the following day.
The ban reflects a global trend of increasing scrutiny of Chinese technology over data security and geopolitical concerns.
The unfolding saga reflects contradictions between bipartisan scrutiny and executive decision-making, exposing a complex intersection between politics, strategic interests, and public interest.
On 24 April 2024, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) was signed into law, banning the distribution, maintenance, or hosting of apps linked to foreign adversaries. Two significant cases, TikTok Inc. v. Garland and Firebaugh v. Garland, challenged the Act. The cases were consolidated, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Act's constitutionality. TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, then petitioned the Supreme Court (SCOTUS), which heard the case on 10 January 2025, and upheld the appellate decision on 17 January.
On 19 January, the U.S. enforced a nationwide ban on TikTok, rendering the app inaccessible to its ~170 million American users. This action followed SCOTUS’s decision to uphold a law requiring ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations or face interdiction. However, on 20 January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the Attorney General not to enforce the Act for 75 days, allowing TikTok to continue to operate while negotiations continued. Despite this, TikTok went offline in the U.S. at 10:30 PM on the 19 January; users were greeted with a message stating, "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.".
In the run-up to these decisions, the U.S. did not present evidence that China had leveraged its relationship with ByteDance for data, as permitted under Chinese law, specifically the National Intelligence Law of 2017. This law, particularly Article 7, requires organisations and citizens to "support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work," and Article 14 empowers intelligence agencies to compel such. Courts did not require the government to provide evidence of this, which would have likely been reviewed in camera, with the perceived threat based on assumptions of China weaponising TikTok for malign purposes. The U.S. is not alone in its apprehensions about TikTok. India imposed a nationwide ban on the app in 2020, citing similar security and privacy concerns. Other nations, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and several European countries, have implemented partial bans, particularly on government-issued devices, to safeguard sensitive information.
TikTok had proposed several less speech-restrictive alternatives to address the government's concerns, including enhanced disclosure or reporting requirements, government counter-speech to address any alleged foreign propaganda, limiting TikTok's collection of location and contact data, and extending bans on government-issued devices to include employees' personal devices. Nonetheless, the court rejected these measures. It should be noted that the court clarified that its decision should not be interpreted as restricting the activities of other applications that also gather large amounts of user data.
The TikTok ban in the U.S. signifies a pivotal moment in the intersection of technology and geopolitics. It underscores the growing importance of data security in national policy decisions and highlights the challenges of global digital interdependence. For users, this ban disrupts a popular platform for expression and income, compelling influencers and content creators to seek alternatives. Economically, ByteDance faces substantial losses and potential divestiture of its U.S. operations.
Forecast
Short-term
In the immediate aftermath, U.S. users are likely to migrate to alternative platforms, e.g. Instagram Reels, which have introduced several updates in preparation. However, users are equally likely to be turning to popular Chinese apps like Red Note* (Xiaohongshu) and ByteDance's Lemon8, which saw a surge in downloads leading up to the TikTok ban. (*Named after Mao's Red Book of Quotations.)
Medium-term
It is likely that other nations reevaluate their stance on TikTok, leading to additional restrictions or bans. For example, European Union member states may extend their partial bans on government devices to broader restrictions, citing similar data privacy and national security concerns. India, which previously banned TikTok, is almost certain to view the U.S. decision as validation of its own measures.
Long-term
There is a real possibility that a TikTok ban is indicative of a broader decoupling of Chinese and Western technology ecosystems, which would very likely lead to the development of region-specific platforms.
The U.S. remains unlikely to establish a federal-level privacy legislation akin to the E.U. or G7 members despite the ban on Tiktok. The U.S.'s precedent may embolden other countries to take similar actions against foreign-owned applications, such as WeChat, Alibaba’s apps, or Huawei services, under the guise of protecting national security.
As highlighted in January 2024, by Michael C. Casey, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, China represents "the broadest, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat" to the U.S. This warning was repeated during TikTok v. Garland and is indicative that this threat is highly likely to continue in the long term.