What's happening with TikTok in the US and what does it mean for Australia?

According to the latest reports, TikTok restored its services in the United States after dark on Saturday evening US time. The company disabled its services ahead of a nationwide ban set to take effect on Sunday.

However, on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would issue an executive order after taking office on Monday, to extend the period before the legislative bans take effect.

TikTok thanked Trump, saying he strongly opposed arbitrary censorship.

What does it mean for TikTok to go dark?

To make the app unavailable in the United States, TikTok opted for two strategies. First, TikTok is no longer available for download from the US version of the Apple App Store, Google Play, and any other app providers where one could download the app.

Second, to disable services only for users in the United States, TikTok used the user's IP address, which indicates where in the world the user is located. If necessary, the same technical process could be implemented in any part of the world, including Australia.

However, the service should only be affected for people residing in the United States. Websites like Reddit have reported that some users outside the United States, including those who originally opened a TikTok account in the United States, have been affected, but this is likely temporary.

If TikTok remained dark, people still wanting to access TikTok in the United States would need to use a virtual private network, or VPN. This can make the user's IP address appear to be from somewhere else in the world.

A person holds an iPhone with a message regarding the banning of its TikTok app in Georgia, United States. EPA/Erik S. Lesser So, is TikTok banned in the US or not?

Officially, TikTok is currently banned from operating in the United States. The law was passed by Congress in April last year and took effect on January 19 after surviving a Supreme Court challenge launched by TikTok.

The law was designed to force Chinese company ByteDance to either sell TikTok in the United States or face a ban with heavy penalties.

However, Trump's statement on Sunday made clear that no sanctions would be imposed on service providers keeping TikTok available while it is ostensibly banned.

Can Trump save TikTok?

Trump's promise to resurrect TikTok in some way was part of his election campaign, so this statement comes as no surprise.

Although Trump cannot overturn the law, his goal is to extend the deadline for TikTok to try to sell the app in the United States. The law does not specify details about potential buyers or ownership structures, other than that they must not be controlled by a foreign adversary (specifically China, in this case).

It is unlikely that it will be possible to circumvent the law by reassuring app stores and cloud service providers that they will not be prosecuted for violating a law passed by Congress and approved by the Supreme Court.

Overall, the situation is slippery and unclear. Some users feel that no one knows what will happen, but everything will be fine in the end. The fact that an app can go down and then be restored in light of a politician's announcement in less than a day shows that there is a huge lack of stability in the social media sphere.

It also shows that big tech and social media, in particular, have entered the political agendas of governments in an unprecedented way. The ByteDance situation demonstrates that governments can use tech companies as political tools against other governments.

Dedicated TikTok users protested the nationwide ban in March 2024 at the Capitol in Washington, before the law was passed. Photo AP/J. Scott Applewhite What does the US ban on TikTok mean for Australia?

Australians should be able to continue using TikTok without issue. However, if TikTok ends up going dark in the US, they won't see new content from US-based creators.

But the implications are broader. Last year, Australia banned children under the age of 16 from all social media, although the details of exactly how this will work have yet to be determined.

The reasons for the ban in Australia are fundamentally different from why TikTok was banned in the United States. In the United States it's an issue of foreign ownership, while in Australia the government has expressed concerns about the welfare of young people. (This question has been widely debated by experts.)

But the fact that bans of various types on social media were the talk of every living room was going to give rise to a lot more political games involving social media and big tech in general.

Social media companies and governments are now engaged in a global power struggle, playing out in several countries: from the United States to Australia to Brazil.

This is a new type of conflict in which governments attempt to control or regulate large technology companies, while technology companies struggle to maintain their independence and power.

The outcome of these struggles will likely determine how online spaces are governed and who ultimately controls the digital world we all use. Stay tuned.

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