Tikok ban on Sunday: That means for you

Tikok ban on Sunday: That means for you

The clock ticks for Tiktok in America. A law that obliges Tikkok to find a new, non-Chinese owner or to be confronted with a ban will come into force on Sunday. However, there is little evidence that the company can complete a sale before this date.

The effects on American users

This means that 170 million Americans may lose access to a platform that they use for entertainment, news and the formation of communities or even operate their business. Tikok has established itself as a serious competitor for established American social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

The legal steps

The Supreme Court confirmed the law on Friday, which causes the ban to get one step closer. Despite the approaching deadline on Sunday, many questions are open. Will TikTok users completely lose the app? Experts had originally expected the app to be removed from Apple and Google's app stores on Sunday, which means that new users could no longer download the app. However, existing users could continue to access it without security updates until it no longer works.

What happens after the ban?

An official representative of the bid administration said on Thursday that the outgoing president plans to leave the implementation of the ban to the new president Trump. "Our position was clear: Tikok should continue to operate under American possessions. In view of the time when the law comes into force - on a holiday weekend a day before taking office - it will be the next administration to implement this," said the official representative.

reasons for the ban

Central accusation against Tikkok is that the company is a potential risk of national security. US officials fear that the Chinese government could put pressure on TikTok or the parent company bytedance to publish personal data from US users. This information could be used for Chinese intelligence operations or to disseminate disinformation supported by China. So far, however, there is no evidence that this has actually happened.

bipartisan support for the ban

The law to impose the ban was supported in both chambers of the US congress with a broad support. The House of Representatives approved it with an overwhelming majority of 360 to 58 votes. As a result, the bidding administration ordered that all employees of the Executive TIKTOK have to remove their cell phones within 30 days.

What will Trump do?

Although the idea of ​​a Tikok ban came up during Trump's first term, he has now changed the course and explained that he wanted to save the app. He asked the Supreme Court to take the implementation of the ban to take care of a sale of Tiktok as President. Several sources reported that he weighed the ban and gained access to the platform while working on a deal.

sales options for TikTok

Even if the ban comes into force, a sale of the app to a non-Chinese owner could restore access for US users. A group around the billionaire Frank McCourt made an official offer to take over TikTok to acquire the US assets, but without the estimated algorithm that China probably does not want to sell.

value of tiktok

The US assets from Tikkok, without the algorithm, are estimated at $ 40 to $ 50 billion. However, it remains unclear how much the algorithms, which could make up a large part of the value, are actually worth. McCourt and his group are covered with the disclosure of their offer while waiting for Bytance to check their offer.

to Sunday and probably beyond, there are more questions for TikK-users than answers about the future of the app.