Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The fate of 170 million TikTok users is now in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law that requires TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or be banned by Sunday, January 19.
But, the White House said it would not enforce the law since Trump takes office the following day, leaving it up to the incoming president.
Trump has promised to “save” TikTok – though it’s unclear how he plans to do so.
A law, passed by Congress last year, requires TikTok to divest from its parent company, ByteDance, due to its proximity to the Chinese government. Lawmakers are concerned that China, a foreign adversary, could access Americans’ data and impede their privacy.
TikTok asked the Supreme Court to intervene, believing it was a violation of the First Amendment. The court disagreed.
While the law only requires that TikTok be taken down from Google and Apple app stores, TikTok has indicated that it will take itself offline completely. Though without an enforcement mechanism, it’s unclear if that will still happen.
White House says TikTok should remain available – and shutdown will be up to Trump
The White House has released a statement saying that TikTok should remain available to all Americans, and that the implementation of the law is up to the next administration.
(As a reminder, the ban goes into effect on 19 January, and Donald Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January.)
That means the app will presumably not go dark on 19 January. And it might never: though Trump’s plans are unclear, there is plenty of reason to believe that he is looking at rolling back or at least delaying the ban.
“TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” the White House said in the new statement.
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”
Andrew Griffin17 January 2025 15:33
Supreme Court will not overrule TikTok ban
The ban on TikTok will stand, the Supreme Court says. The law does not break the first amendment and therefore will not be overturned.
Andrew Griffin17 January 2025 15:04
Donald Trump says he discussed TikTok with Xi Jinping
The president-elect has held a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which he says included a discussion of TikTok. He did not say what the nature of those discussions were.
“The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Andrew Griffin17 January 2025 15:00
Supreme Court opinions imminent
In about half an hour, the Supreme Court is due to release opinions. That will happen at 10am local eastern time.
We don’t know for sure that it will cover TikTok, as it did not say which cases those will cover. And we definitely don’t know whether it will make a difference: during arguments last week, it seemed as if the court would probably uphold the law and thereby leave the TikTok ban in place.
Andrew Griffin17 January 2025 14:37
Will Donald Trump save TikTok from Joe Biden? He’s going to try
Trump sees halting the bipartisan TikTok ban as an easy way to show he’s delivering results. He’s probably right.
Read the analysis from John Bowden:
John Bowden17 January 2025 13:00
Chinese says it is not illegally collecting TikTok users’ data
The Chinese government has denied accusations that it is illegally collecting user data. It “has never and will never” require companies or individuals to collect data for or provide data to it in a way that violates the law, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
The ministry spokesperson was responding to a question about six Chinese companies including TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi, which have been named in a privacy complaint filed by Austrian advocacy group Noyb claiming the firms were unlawfully sending European Union user data to China.
Andrew Griffin17 January 2025 11:17
Republican senator says TikTok is ‘a Chinese communist spy app’
Republican Senator Tom Cotton opposed an effort to extend TikTok’s ban deadline, saying it posed too great of a threat to allow for any concessions or compromises.
“TikTok isn’t just another social media platform,” Cotton said. “TikTok is a Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative and spreads Communist propoganda.”
His opposition was to Senator Ed Markey’s attempt to introduce legislation that would extend the deadline thus giving TikTok more time to work out a deal or at least allow President-elect Donald Trump to weigh-in.
“No extensions, no concession and no compromises for TikTok,” Cotton said.
Ariana Baio17 January 2025 11:00
Is TikTok’s Chinese alternative any safer than the app facing a potential US ban?
China-based RedNote has experienced a huge surge in downloads from users in the US and worldwide as the 19 January deadline for the US TikTok ban approaches.
The app, a mix of Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, is one of the most popular in China and reached the top spot in the UK app download charts this week. Those migrating to the platform, officially called Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book,” have been warmly welcomed. Chinese and Western users collaborate on the app, teaching each other English or Mandarin, helping with homework, or sharing jokes about the looming TikTok ban.
Like TikTok, RedNote is owned by a Chinese company, Xingyin Information Technology. Chartered security expert James Bore says that, like most social media platforms, RedNote prioritises growth and engagement over user privacy. However, the platform’s governance under Chinese law sets it apart.
“The difference is that China has a law that the government must have a stake in companies,” he told The Independent. “This is not a secret, it’s written into Chinese law so that they can overrule things and make sure there’s nothing that threatens the Chinese state. That’s a level of interference in companies that we’re not really used to in the West.”
Cybersecurity expert Rob Pritchard added: “I doubt there is a particular risk to individuals, but the broader implications are interesting. It’s not the effect the US government wanted to achieve, I’m sure.”
When users sign up for RedNote, they must accept terms and conditions presented only in Mandarin, leaving many unaware of what they’re agreeing to.
“I saw the terms and conditions for this app and I just clicked it. I didn’t even try to read that,” said new RedNote user Kelsey Higginbottom in a clip.
Athena Stavrou17 January 2025 09:00
TikTok refugees welcomed by alternative Chinese apps ahead of ban
TikTok users in the US have reported receiving a warm welcome on other Chinese-owned apps amid a looming ban on the hugely popular social media platform.
China-based Lemon8 and RedNote have both experienced a surge in downloads from US users as the 19 January deadline for the TikTok ban approaches, each topping the app charts.
Anthony Cuthbertson reports:
Anthony Cuthbertson17 January 2025 07:00
