US TikTok Ban: Is Elon Musk the Key to Its Survival?

Chinese officials are holding talks with billionaire Elon Musk for the acquisition of video-streaming app TikTok ahead of the impending ban on January 19, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The officials reportedly are considering that Musk’s social media platform X would run TikTok’s US operations while the ownership of the video streaming app remains under the control of the parent company, ByteDance. 

Musk’s role is crucial in protecting TikTok’s future in the US, as he is considered one of the closest allies of the US President-elect Donald Trump. Moreover, his role as the head of Trump’s newly proposed department of government efficiency has made him a key person to negotiate with the upcoming administration. 

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According to the new law, the parent company will have to sell TikTok’s US operations to a domestic entity to continue running its operations in the States, as the app is considered a threat to US national security by the government. The new law was signed by the outgoing US President Joe Biden in April last year and will come into force on January 19, 2025. The gives the US president the power to decide whether such a sale will remove TikTok from “foreign adversary” control. 

The company moved to a US court of appeals against the law on grounds that it violates the first amendment of the US constitution.  The first amendment states that the Congress should not make a law that restricts freedom of speech of people. But the company received a blow as the court ruled in favour of the law in December last year. 

“The government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States,” said the appeals court judges, according to the New York Times. 

Following the court’s order, the company called the law an outright attempt to censor Americans and consequently moved to the Supreme Court. 

“Ban is inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” said the company in a statement. 

The matter is being heard in the Supreme Court and is likely to give a verdict this week. 

This comes just a week before the impending ban, which will hugely affect TikTok’s US business as the company will lose out on one of its biggest markets with nearly 170 million users. 

Also Read: TikTok Expresses Concerns Over Bill Mandating Potential U.S. Ban On The App, Says Report