Published on January 28, 2025
We write in memoriam of the beloved social media platform, TikTok. First brought into the world September 20th, 2016, and exiting from the world of United States users on January 19th, 2025. Well, exiting for a little under a day and then rising from the dead like a zombie. A beacon for viral dance videos and influencers everywhere with over 107.8 million estimated U.S. users, the platform’s loss was felt nationwide, but the re-emergence of the platform, which may be temporary, has left some users with questions on how to proceed. Many industries, including the mortgage industry, found a niche in TikTok marketing – connecting with users in a personalized way and gaining audiences never before seen on previous social media initiatives. What caused the initial exit of TikTok? Is it back for good? And what might that mean for influencers in the mortgage arena?
The Infancy of the TikTok Ban
The initiation of the nationwide TikTok ban began first with the United States government’s own computers. Senate Bill S.1143, known as “No TikTok on Government Devices Act”, passed the Senate on December 14th, 2022. Aptly named, the Act prohibits certain individuals from “downloading or using TikTok on any device issued by the United States or a government corporation”. The Act did carve out exceptions for those government employees, like law enforcement and national security specialists, whose job functions included oversight of TikTok to fulfill their protective duties.
A few months later, the Governor of the State of Montana, Greg Gianforte, signed state Senate Bill 419 into law, making Montana the first state in the nation to ban TikTok and prohibit mobile application stores from offering TikTok within the state. This occurred on May 17th, 2023, and later in the year on November 30th, 2023 a federal judge blocked the ban stating that Montana’s ban “oversteps state power” and “likely violates the First Amendment”. The ruling was preliminary, and a final determination was expected to come the following year. A new federal ban on TikTok would supersede any state cases.
Background on PAFACA – the Ban on TikTok
The federal law, H.R. 7521, received, read, and passed by Congress March 14th, 2024, was outlined as an act focused on protecting the national security of the United States from threats posed by “foreign adversary controlled applications” such as TikTok. Colloquially titled as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or PAFACA, the act outlines that it shall be unlawful for an entity to distribute, maintain, or update a foreign adversary-controlled application. This includes hosting the application for download on a mobile app store and providing internet hosting services for the application. The text provided a timeline of 180 days for the Act to take full effect, noting that the President has the ability to provide “relevant determination” on the fate of the app.
The Act effectively outlines that TikTok would not be available for new users to download, and existing users could not receive application updates from their device’s app store. It also outlines the website version of TikTok would also not be available to users within the United States. The Act places the onus on the entity, TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Limited, to ensure that users do not have access to the application, outlining a hefty $5,000 per user penalty.
Supreme Court Proceedings
The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. For the case of TikTok, there were two opposing sides at play. Congress has labeled the app’s Chinese ownership a national security risk and passed a law that would ban the social media platform unless it was sold. The other side, TikTok and the various users/creators, argued that the law violates their free speech rights guaranteed under the constitution. TikTok and its supporters were adamantly opposed to PAFACA and sought to have the law stricken down or at least receive an extension to 180-day deadline.
On January 10th, 2025, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of TikTok v. Garland, a suit brought by TikTok and its users against Respondent Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States. The suit challenged the federal law that bans the platform in the U.S. beginning on January 19th, 2025. In the proceedings, the court justices pressed lawyers about what would happen if ByteDance did not sell TikTok. It was relayed that TikTok would “go dark” in the United States. The TikTok representatives argued it would be “perfect sense to issue a preliminary injunction and buy everyone a little breathing space”, but this outcome did not come to fruition. The Supreme Court elected on January 17th to uphold the law, and on January 18th, 2025, TikTok was indeed removed for users in the United States. However, the app was soon reinstated, with access restored to American users midday on January 19th with the apps total downtime spanning about 14 total hours. President Trump has indicated an intention to grant the app an extension in the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that a divestment might be made.
Implications for United States Users
With the new law in place and an extension period not a long-term solution, some users are questioning the future of the application. If divestment does not occur, TikTok would not be available for download or app updates, and content would not be accessible for users within the United States. As part of the Act, TikTok would be required to provide all existing users, upon request, all the available data related to the user’s account. This includes all posts, photos, videos, and other relevant account information. Users would have the ability to essentially harvest their creative materials and publish them elsewhere on other social media platforms. At this time, TikTok users have regained the ability to create and post new content on TikTok, as well as the ability to view and interact with other users' TikTok content. But with a potential future expiration date looming for the app, there is hesitancy for many users to fully invest in the app at this time.
Implications for Third-party Providers
TikTok’s passing would not only leave users in mourning but third-party providers as well. A vast ecosystem of software companies who specialize in marketing pushing, engagement analytics, compliance monitoring, AI integrations, and more would no longer have access to the application. These providers would experience a disruption of TikTok affiliated services and a potential loss in revenue. This ripple effect demonstrates how the ban extends far beyond the app itself, impacting digital ecosystems and the nationwide economy. Third-party providers should keep their clients informed on recent TikTok changes, and educate them on alternative platforms available should divestment fall through.
Emerging Alternatives for “TikTok Refugees”
A Chinese app similar to Instagram known as Xiaohongshu, which translates to Little Red Book or “REDNote”, has seen a huge spike in new user signups. Founded in 2013, Red Note is one of China’s biggest social media platforms with 300 million users. More than 700,000 new users have reportedly joined the app, with more joining every hour. The hashtag “TikTok refugee” had garnered nearly 250 million views. Another app called Clapper, which is a platform designed for short videos and live streaming (sound familiar?) has also emerged as a TikTok alternative. Of course, many TikTok users are opting to double down on platforms they are already familiar with, utilizing YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels functionality instead.
Conclusion
TikTok, thought to be gone for good, has quickly rebounded and risen from the ashes like a phoenix. The granting of an extension by the President would provide time for a divestiture of TikTok. This means that if the subsidiary business, TikTok, is sold by parent company, ByteDance Limited, to an American business, the platform could continue in operation long term. Byte Dance has previously indicated a non-interest in selling the application. If this sale fails to occur, the Act prohibiting TikTok would remain in place and the TikTok ban would resurface. Time will tell if TikTok’s revival is for good, or if these are merely temporary lifesaving measures.
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