Earlier this year, everyone was upset about the U.S. ban on TikTok.
But when the injunction went to court, everyone moved on to other things.
Well, ban is back. Or is it?
Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the law on national security grounds and rejected TikTok parent company ByteDance’s argument that the ban violated constitutional free speech rights.
The decision clears the way for U.S. users Lost access to TikTok on January 19.
But not that fast.
What happened? What could possibly happen before you lose TikTok’s dance videos, dog memes, and general absurdity—and one of the most powerful marketing and business platforms of the past decade?
With the clock ticking, we asked Robert Rose, chief strategist at CMI, for his take. Here’s what he had to say:
Court: TikTok not a First Amendment issue
Time is running out for TikTok and ByteDance.
In her ruling, Justice Douglas Ginsburg laid out the law that upheld TikTok’s divestment. In deciding, he Wrote“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here, the government acts solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary state and limit that adversary’s ability to collect data on Americans.
Translation: It’s complicated.
Of course, TikTok’s lawyers fought back, say ban would “silence the voices of more than 170 million Americans in the United States and around the world on January 19, 2025.”
Let’s face it – how would 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 powerhouse. I’ve talked many times about how B2C and B2B marketers see real engagement, real success, and real benefits from using TikTok.
Don’t believe the January 19th deadline
In spring, I let you not have to look at the bill, outlines what happened. This time, I must say, much of the media still hasn’t communicated what exactly happened. They sound like January 19th is a set date after which all access to the network will be blocked. This is simply not true.
January 19 is 270 days after the bill is signed into law, which is the deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok. But Douyin An emergency restraining order has been applied for to prevent the ban from taking effect.
To be honest, this was always going to happen, even without the interesting issue of Donald Trump taking office on January 20th, who expressed his opposition to the ban during his campaign.
In March of this year, I said that TikTok was in almost no danger of growing, and I still believe that.
The January 19 date could be delayed by the courts, U.S. infrastructure might not be able to block the site, or President Trump could step in before Inauguration Day dinner. Regardless, TikTok’s conclusion won’t come within the next few months.
So if you’re thinking about quitting TikTok or thinking about switching to TikTok, take a deep breath. Give it a few weeks. I think you’ll be fine.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
