On Jan. 18, 2025, the use of the app TikTok in the U.S. was halted. For 13 hours, users opened the app only to be shown the message, “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
The message came as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was to be implemented the next day. According to the White House’s website, the Act aims to regulate “foreign adversary-controlled applications,” specifically ones operated by ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s parent company. The goal of this regulation is to protect national security from being damaged by these applications. When put into place, the app prohibits the maintenance, distribution and updating of foreign adversary applications, including website, desktop and mobile versions.
The ban began its way through the legal system in April of last year when Congress passed a law in which ByteDance Ltd. would be required to sell the U.S. version of TikTok. In May of the same year, ByteDance along with Based Politics (a nonprofit that utilizes TikTok) and eight individual TikTok creators filed a petition.
That petition was against Attorney General Merrick Garland. The case TikTok, Inc. v. Garland was argued on Jan. 10, 2024, and decided on Jan. 17, 2025. The issue of the case was whether or not the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act violated the First Amendment. The conclusion was a decision for Garland; the court determined that the Act was not unconstitutional.
According to the White House’s website, the timing of the Act going into effect just one day before Donald Trump’s inauguration made it difficult for the incoming administration to weigh the consequences of letting the act go on. Due to this, Trump issued a 75-day extension, meaning that ByteDance Ltd. applications would be breaking the law by continuing to operate in the U.S.
Trump has said that he will not take legal action against the applications for doing so: “Accordingly, I am instructing the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.”
During this extension, Trump said he will consult with members of his administration to resolve the issue. “I have the unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy and other vital executive functions. To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”
He also says that he will look into the national security concerns about the applications: “My Administration must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”
The extension ends in April when the decision on the Act is said to be made. It is possible that a longer extension will be put into place.
