Article Trump may extend TikTok use despite ban + What could US TikTok ban mean for UK users?

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Donald Trump says he will 'most likely' extend TikTok use for Americans as US braces for ban in hours
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/donald-trump-...ys-us-ban/

EXCERPTS: Donald Trump has said he will “most likely” give TikTok 90 extra days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a US ban. The top judges in the US decided to uphold a ban on the popular short-form video app, which has more than 170 million users in the country. The ban is set to imposed from Sunday.

The US Supreme Court ruled the "dangers" the app poses to national security override questions over free speech. But Mr Trump has revealed that he is mulling a plan to grant TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on Monday, marking the start of his second term in office. [...] TikTok’s China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year.

The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension if a sale is in progress... (MORE - details)
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What could US TikTok ban mean for UK users?
https://inews.co.uk/news/what-could-us-t...TO=newsnow

INTRO: TikTok has declared it will “go dark” in America on Sunday unless the US takes steps to reverse its decision to ban the widely popular social media site.

On Friday the company lost a last-ditch ditch effort to have the ban declared unconstituational on free speach grounds by the Supreme Court. President Joe Biden has already ordered TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance by 19 January.

Legislation ordering the ban – which was first thought up under Donald Trump’s first presidential administration – was passed by Congress last spring with an overwhelming majority, with lawmakers on both sides citing national security concerns.

Chinese law requires organisations based in the country to cooperate with the communist party’s intelligence gathering, leading security chiefs in the US to warn that Tiktok could be used as a vehicle to spy on its 170 million American users.

Will the UK follow their security ally’s lead? What could a TikTok ban in the US mean for users in the UK? The UK Government said there were currently “no plans” to introduce a TikTok ban.

A UK Government spokesperson said on Saturday: “This is a matter for the US government. There are no plans to introduce a TikTok ban in the UK. “We engage with all major social media companies to understand their plans for ensuring the security of UK data and to ensure they meet the high data protection and cyber security standards we expect.”

TikTok, however, is already banned on government devices due to cybersecurity concerns, signalling that the UK Government shares at least some of the same concerns as the US... (MORE - details)

[Yazata]

There's lots of talk that TikTok has gone down, at least in the United States.

People trying to access it are getting this:

[Image: GhoG3GCXEAAtqIy?format=png&name=small]

nsNS

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Apparently, the way to win the hearts of young crusaders is to promise to give them back their toys that the Grinch stole.

SPIEL: TikTok is primarily used by younger generations, with a significant portion of its users being under 30 years old, particularly Gen Z. In the U.S., the largest group of users is aged 25 to 34, and the platform has a fairly balanced gender distribution, with slightly more male users than female.

FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES:

On the eve of his return to the White House, Trump is being hailed as TikToks’s savior.

“When you hear the kids are liberal, they’re not liberal,” Trump said. “Maybe they used to be, but they’re not anymore.”

Trump, who will be sworn in for a second time Monday, attributed the strides he made with younger voters in part to his newfound support of TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media company that he once favored putting out of business but that he has more recently embraced.

TikTok says it’s “in the process” of restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a new law.

Before its ban, the video-sharing platform had some 170 million users in the United States. It went dark late Saturday as users were prompted with a message indicating that the decision to pause its services to comply with the ban would be temporary.

Early on Sunday, Trump said he would issue an executive order following his inauguration on Monday to delay enforcement of the divest-or-ban law. And within hours, access to TikTok’s app and webpage began to return for US users.

"We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!" the message said.

Trump has not always supported the platform. [...But...] TikTok played a significant role in the 2024 campaign cycle that saw Trump return to power.

While both Trump and Kamala Harris used the platform to reach young voters, Trump's strategy was particularly effective by collaborating with influencers like Adin Ross and Logan Paul, leading Trump to change his rhetoric ahead of the looming ban.

The ban went into effect Sunday, with services paused for TikTok users beginning late Saturday. [...] TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.

Chew posted a video late Saturday thanking Trump for his commitment to work with the company to keep the app available in the U.S. and taking a “strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.”

President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent U.S.ban.

Trump's overtures to a newer generation were consistent throughout. He suggested that he had joined TikTok — “Can you believe what I’ll do to win an election?” — in large part because of its popularity with younger voters.

“I said we need to save TikTok, because we’re talking about a tremendous audience,” said Trump, who at times overstated the amount of support he received from the demographic, which has long favored Democratic candidates, but trended in his direction last fall.

[Syne]

Trump's now saying he's for China retaining 50% ownership of TikTok. That doesn't seem feasible considering the purpose of the ban, passed by Congress.
Don't know yet if this is just talk, as Trump is wont to do, often staking out a more extreme position prior to negotiating a deal. But I can't see China retaining any ownership, as that would still allow them access to the personal data of so many US citizens and cultural influence through the types of content TikTok promotes.

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Trump's now saying he's for China retaining 50% ownership of TikTok. That doesn't seem feasible considering the purpose of the ban, passed by Congress.
Don't know yet if this is just talk, as Trump is wont to do, often staking out a more extreme position prior to negotiating a deal. But I can't see China retaining any ownership, as that would still allow them access to the personal data of so many US citizens and cultural influence through the types of content TikTok promotes.

Yeah, that's just not going to work, unless there is a significant brain/blood barrier there. Where ByteDance receives nothing but part of the profits and no control. I don't see how that's even possible, given that they're designing the app and connecting it to the applicable servers. Maybe the US side could get the rights to examine the software and related networks for spy stuff, but all the US TikToK accounts would have to be stored and based in the US, with no information being routed to China. Again, the complexity of that along with assuring that no duplicity slips in seems too risky and far-fetched.