Since 2020, the United States government has been trying to ban TikTok. A social media app that’s more annoying and a time suck than espionage tool. After the Biden administration effectively codified an effective ban for the app, any such ban may take years to materialize thanks to TikTok suing the United States.

TikTok is suing over the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Control Act passed by Congress which would force the company to divest itself from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and sell to a non-Chinese Community Party entity. TikTok contends the law is a violation of first amendment free speech protections.

For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide.

TikTok

According to TikTok, citing national security concerns isn’t enough to ban their app. The company has stated TikTok hasn’t met the burden necessary to restrict its app from being used on US soil.

Congress and the White House are wrapping themselves in the flag and stating publicly available and classified information details TikTok’s snooping.

TikTok Already Banned

The United States and several state governments have already banned TikTok from being installed on government issued phones and devices. Government agencies claim TikTok is stealing information, but there are no data privacy and data security laws in the United States with enough teeth to really make this claim. TikTok steals as much data as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter yet the government isn’t going after them.

TikTok tried to quell US antagonism by investing $1.5 billion in a transparency campaign called Project Texas. The move was to make TikTok’s data use transparent to regulators and prove TikTok wasn’t sharing data with the Chinese government. The company formed a US-based company that was responsible for TikTok’s data security. This company would be a sort-of, Chinese Wall, isolating the TikTok app from China.

That effort didn’t do enough however with all events leading up to the ban.

I’m not sure how this will play out, but I’m not convinced TikTok will be banned from the United States.