The TikTok ban is delayed... again. What can we learn from the whiplash?

Jan 22, 2025

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At this hour, TikTok is once again available to its millions of U.S. users – brought back to life, for at least 75 days, by the President who once tried to kill it.

It’s been a long and confusing road to get here.

Congress passed a law last April to force TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media app or face a ban in the U.S.. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld that ban, which was set to go into effect on Sunday.

TikTok then went dark on Saturday, when users were greeted with a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”

Shortly afterwards, a hopeful update appeared in that popup message:
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”

The app was back in service Sunday, after about 14 hours offline for U.S. users.

President Trump sealed a reprieve for TikTok with the stroke of his Sharpie on Monday, signing an executive order delaying the enforcement of the federal ban for 75 days.

It’s just another stop on the long road toward a potential all-out ban of the Chinese-owned app for U.S. users -- and the President’s latest actions raise a host of political, legal and cultural questions.

Soundside was joined by a panel of experts to break down what's next.

Guests:

Ben Brody, a technology reporter for Punchbowl News based in D.C.
Jessica Maddox, associate professor of digital media at the University of Alabama.
Joseph Tomain, senior lecturer at Indiana University Bloomington.

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