TikTok on the Brink: Supreme Court Silence Leaves App’s Fate Hanging as Users Flock to Other Chinese Alternatives

Social media phenomenon TikTok is poised to go dark as soon as this weekend as the Supreme Court justices weigh upholding a ban set to take effect on Sunday.The justices have yet to hand down a decision on TikTok v. Garland, which has left the massively popular video-sharing app’s fate in America up in the air. It’s not immediately known when the high court will issue its ruling.China-based ByteDance owns TikTok and has been a concern for federal officials, who believe that the app is being used as a way to conduct surveillance on and potentially influence American citizens.The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden last year, states that the social media app could be banned out of National Security concerns if its parent company does not give up its ownership of the American version of the app within nine months of the new law taking effect on January 19.Rumors have swirled that the China was eyeing a sale of its American operations to Elon Musk, but officials at ByteDance have called The Wall Street Journal report “pure fiction.”At least one bid has been made by a consortium led by investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and Project Liberty, one that would keep the app running stateside.“We’re the only syndicate that put out in a real bid in front of the company, in front of the bankers, in front of the shareholders and the Chinese government,” Mr. O’Leary said Wednesday on Fox Business, adding that he is also in favor of a “90-day stay” on the Foreign Adversary act to prevent TikTok from going dark on Sunday.“I don’t want to see that happen,” he said. “There’s six million American businesses that depend on it.”TikTok is central to the marketing efforts of American businesses that want to reach young people. However, members of Congress argue that it’s too dangerous to give a Chinese company access to so much data about Americans and to have so much access to American eyeballs. ByteDance has contested the new law. In a petition to the Supreme Court, its attorneys argued that “Congress’s unprecedented attempt to single out applicants and bar them from operating one of the most significant speech platforms in this Nation presents grave constitutional problems that this Court likely will not allow to stand.”Self-described “TikTok Refugees” are already flocking to a new app from the People’s Republic of China. The app, Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book,” has surged to the top of Apple’s app store this week, with mobile downloads in America tripling over the past week, according to a report from CNN.The social media app, often referred to by American users as “RedNote,” has been described as Communist China’s answer to Instagram. It is popular among its Chinese users for sharing travel, beauty, and fashion tips. It’s also one of the country’s most prominent platforms, boasting 300 million users.Over a span of two days, more than 700,000 new users have downloaded and signed up for LittleRedBook — a reference to the book of quotations from Mao Zedong, a founding father of the communist government in China — and on Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok Refugee” was a top trend on the service.“Our government is out of their minds if they think we’re going to stand for this TikTok ban,” new user Heather Roberts said in a video message on Xiaohongshu, which garnered more than 45,000 likes from other users. “We’re just going to a new Chinese app, and here we are.”“This is so much better than TikTok,” said another self-proclaimed “refugee” in a video posted to the app. “Americans are coming here … so sorry you’ll hate us, but I promise we’ll do our best.”

TikTok on the Brink: Supreme Court Silence Leaves App’s Fate Hanging as Users Flock to Other Chinese Alternatives

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