As things stand, TikTok is closing in on a nationwide ban in the US on January 19th. We’ve witnessed twist after twist in this long-gestating saga that was set into motion back in August 2020 when Trump ordered that ByteDance sell off its prized asset in the US.
That mandate was repealed in June 2021 by ensuing president Joe Biden. From there, questions over data privacy and content moderation have rumbled on in the background, with the platform ultimately unable to outrun the whispers.
As destiny beckons, the Chinese-owned social media giant still has a few cards left to play. From selling to a host of Shark Tank to appealing to the Supreme Court, we’ve outlined every option that TikTok has at its disposal with its exit from the US market looming.
Option 1: Sell the Platform
There is no shortage of suitors that would be more than happy to take the platform off ByteDance’s hands. The problem? The company has repeatedly maintained that it has no intention to sell.
The most recent noises from the business world are coming from former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who confirmed that he had made a formal offer to ByteDance last week. McCourt is heading up a group, known as The People’s Bid for TikTok, which includes Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame.
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The bid is backed by leading investment firm Guggenheim Securities, and also includes English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, famously the creator of the “World Wide Web.” In a statement on Thursday, McCourt outlined his plans for the platform:
“By bringing leading academics, technologists, behavioral scientists, psychologists and economic experts together with community partners, parents and citizens, we believe we can preserve – and enhance – the TikTok experience by giving individuals and creators on the platform the value and control they deserve regarding who has access to their data and how it is used.”
Elsewhere, Elon Musk’s name has been floated. The X CEO and richest man in the world could certainly afford TikTok, and a surprise visit to Beijing in April 2024 prompted speculation that he might be interested. However, he quickly moved to distance himself from such rumors, writing on X that, “TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”
Of course, there’s another issue to consider: just how many people could actually afford TikTok. It’s unclear how much the US version of the app would cost, but ByteDance has been valued at no less than $225 billion.
Notably, McCourt’s bid does not include the famous TikTok algorithm, which would fetch a considerably higher price. In an attempt to allay concerns about how they could replicate TikTok’s success without it, last week, O’Leary posted on X: “We’ll buy it without the algorithm. We don’t need them. We’ll do it ourselves and make TikTok wonderful again.” Perhaps we shall see.
Option 2: Delay the Supreme Court Ruling
On Friday, the Supreme Court gave a strong indication that it planned to uphold the ban. TikTok lawyers, users, and the Biden Administration made oral arguments before the nine justices of the court, who did not appear moved by the company’s proclamations about infringement on free speech.
In response, Chief Justice John Roberts stated: “So, are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government.” He went on: “Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” rather that “China has to stop controlling TikTok.”
However, the company has asked for a deadline extension, which would give the Supreme Court more time to come to a decision. Trump has personally intervened, filing an amicus brief in December 2024 in support of an extension. Notably, this would bring any potential ruling within the start of his first term, enabling his administration to find a “political resolution.” There is some confusion as to what that could entail, but one thing is for sure – TikTok can count on Trump’s support, and the Republican can be hard to predict.
Option 3: Push the “Trump” Button
There’s a cyclicality to the TikTok ban story – that of Trump initially urging Congress to ban TikTok; Biden quashing his mandate; Biden later tabling his own effort to ban the platform; and finally, Trump potentially coming to its rescue.
If he decided to take his intervention further, perhaps after some persuasion from TikTok, Trump could do a few things to ease the transition or potentially stop the ruling altogether. First up, he could grant the company a 90-day extension in which to find another buyer. This would give them a bit more leverage and likely result in a higher fee, but it’s still not ByteDance’s preference.
If Trump really wanted to shake things up, he could lean heavily on Congress to rescind the law. This is pretty unlikely. The bill — which has bipartisan support — had a relatively smooth passage through both the House and Senate. Repealing it would require a new bill, which would again require majority backing in both chambers. In the words of professor of law at Cornell University, Gautum Hans: “That would be pretty extraordinary…you’d have to have a lot of reversals from legislators to undo the law,” as relayed to NBC.
Lastly, the President-elect could instruct the Justice Department to refrain from enforcing the law. In essence, this would mean that Google, Apple, and other web hosting services would not be prosecuted for making TikTok available to users, as per the ban ruling. Again, this would be totally unprecedented, and so seems unlikely
What Next for TikTok?
With a ban scheduled to come into effect in just a few days, it’s looking increasingly likely that ByteDance will either be forced to offload its flagship platform – or will see through its stated intention to “go dark” as representatives for the company have promised.
However, the imminent arrival of Trump to the White House definitely complicates matters. As one of his first acts in power, the Republican is determined to find an as-yet unspecified solution. His proximity might force the Supreme Court’s hand and see a timeline extension being granted.
If it does pan out that way, don’t be surprised to see Trump wading further into the debate, and possibly exercising his newfound powers for truly unprecedented means. We know one thing for sure – the next few days are going to be absolutely fascinating as the clock counts down on the TikTok ban saga.
