Earlier this year, everybody was all aflutter about the U.S. ban on TikTok.
But when the ban moved into the courts, everybody moved on to something else.
Well, the ban is back. Or is it?
Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the law, citing national security concerns and rejecting TikTok parent company ByteDance’s argument that the ban violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
The decision clears the way for U.S. users to lose access to TikTok on Jan. 19.
But not so fast.
What’s really happening? What’s probably going to happen before you lose the dance videos, dog memes, and general ridiculousness of TikTok — and one of the most powerful marketing and commerce platforms of the last decade?
As the clock ticks, we asked Robert Rose, CMI’s chief strategy advisor, for his take. Here’s what he had to say:
Court: TikTok isn’t a First Amendment issue
The clock is running out on TikTok and ByteDance.
Judge Douglas Ginsburg laid down the law in his ruling to uphold the TikTok divestiture. In the decision, he wrote, “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here, the government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”
Translation: It’s complicated.
Of course, TikTok’s lawyers clapped back, saying the ban will “silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the U.S. and around the world on Jan. 19, 2025.”
And let’s be real — how will the world survive without endless cat videos and questionable life hacks?
First Amendment issues aside, TikTok has grown into a marketing, advertising, and e-commerce juggernaut. I’ve talked many times about how both B2C and B2B marketers see real engagement, real success, and real dollars using TikTok.
Don’t believe the Jan. 19 deadline
In spring, I spared you from reading the bill and outlined what was going on. And this time, I must say that many media outlets still are not communicating what’s really happening. They make it sound like Jan. 19 is a line in the sand, after which all access to the network will be blocked. That is simply not true.
The Jan. 19 date is 270 days after the bill was signed into law — the deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok. But TikTok has filed an emergency injunction to stop the ban from taking effect.
Honestly, this was always going to happen, even without the interesting wrinkle that Donald Trump, who said during the election campaign he opposed the ban, will take office on Jan. 20. Talk about timing.
In March, I said TikTok was in little danger of going anywhere, and I still believe that.
The Jan. 19 date might get stayed by the courts, the U.S. infrastructure might not be able to block the site, or President Trump might step in before dinner on Inauguration Day. In any case, a TikTok conclusion will not be realized in the next few months.
So, if you are pondering a pivot out of TikTok or considering a pivot in, take a breath. Give it a few weeks. I think you will be just fine.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute