Getty ImagesTikTok is set to be banned in the US on 19 January after the Supreme Court denied a last ditch legal bid from its Chinese owner, ByteDance.It found the law banning the social media platform did not violate the first amendment rights of TikTok and its 170 million users, as the companies argued.But will the decision of the country’s highest judicial authority actually stop Americans using it?President-elect Donald Trump says, simply, the future of TikTok is up to him.And the White House says “given the sheer fact of timing”, the process of implementing the law will indeed fall to Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday – the day after the ban comes into effect.So what happens next?Can Trump still intervene?Getty ImagesTrump may once have sought to ban TikTok – but he has repeatedly indicated during 2024 that he is now firmly against the law, and tried unsuccessfully to get it delayed.Despite the court’s ruling, in an interview with CNN, he has insisted TikTok’s future rests with him – even if he gave no indication of what his decision on the future of the social media platform would be.On social media he indicated his next steps might take some time to work out.”The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,” he wrote. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation.”Before that interview he has made it clear however he would be seeking what he previously called a “political solution.”On Friday, just before the court released its ruling, he said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about TikTok, as well as issues around trade.”It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” he posted on social media. And on Thursday Trump’s incoming national security advised Mike Waltz told Fox News the president-elect was looking for ways to “preserve” TikTok, saying Americans’ access to the platform and their data would be preserved.”I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create the space to put that deal in place,” Mr Waltz said.The Biden administration has made clear they will not enforce the law – so another option would be for Trump to follow suit and allow the law to stand but tell the Department of Justice (DoJ) to ignore it.The government would be effectively telling Apple and Google that they won’t be punished for continuing to allow people to download TikTok onto their devices, meaning the law would remain in place but would essentially be redundant.Obviously, the firms might be uncomfortable about breaking the law even if they’ve been told it’s fine – as it would be effectively requiring them to take the president’s word for it that they won’t face punishment.Can people still use TikTok even if it’s banned?If Trump can’t unban TikTok, then what happens?The most likely way the US would enforce the ban is to order app stores to make it unavailable for download in that region.But the DoJ has said the actual process of implementing the law – and making sure firms are compliant – will be “a process that plays out over time”.If people can no longer use a legitimate means to access TikTok through digital storefronts it won’t impact those who’ve already got it on their phones.But because the app most likely won’t be publicly available anymore, new updates will no longer be delivered to users in the US – which will make the app buggier and, eventually, unusable. Not to mention that many updates are provided to fix security holes in apps, so if TikTok stopped getting updates that could present hackers with millions of devices to target.Of course, there are ways around such a ban.There are already many videos circulating on TikTok informing users how to use a VPN (virtual private network) – a way of making it appear as if you are in another region.The region of app stores can also be changed on most devices, so anyone can theoretically access apps from other countries – though this may cause other problems, not to mention likely breaking terms of service agreements.It is also possible to install apps downloaded from the internet by modifying a device – which may break copyright law – and comes with its own risks. However the government has also anticipated this so is also proposing to ban “internet hosting services” from giving people access to the app.So if the ban ends up taking this kind of form it seems likely that those who are determined to use TikTok after it comes into effect will still be able to do so – but it won’t be the experience they are used to.However there are other routes available to the government down the road – for example, after India banned TikTok in 2020, it ordered internet providers to block access to the app altogether.TikTok’s own lawyer told the Supreme Court that he believes the app will “go dark” in the US.Professor Milton L. Mueller of the Georgia Institute of Technology – who filed a legal brief in support of TikTok – said the complexity of the issue means even the experts are unclear about what happens next.But he said what was clear was the impact it would have on users and the internet itself.”It would totally legitimise the fragmentation of the internet along national or jurisdictional boundaries,” he said.Could a new buyer still emerge?Getty ImagesUp until now, ByteDance has been resolute that no sale of its prize asset in the US is on the table.But could that change now that it has actually been banned – and what will happen when a president who prides himself on “the art of the deal” returns …
