<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



TikTok said Sunday it was “restoring service” to U.S. users, about 14 hours after it abruptly shut itself down minutes before a nationwide ban took effect—a move prompted by President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to halt the ban when he takes office Monday by extending a deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell the app.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Timeline</h2>



1:50 p.m. EST, January 19TikTok is now back online for many American users, sending a popup message that states: “Welcome back!” adding, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”—though it still does not appear to be available on Apple’s App Store.



1 p.m. EST, January 19Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warned that “any company that hosts, distributes, services or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability” in <a href="https://x.com/SenTomCotton/status/1881038993875140640" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a tweet</a> responding to the company’s announcement that it’s restoring the app.



1 p.m. EST, January 19Some TikTok users reported the app has started working again.



12:30 p.m. EST, January 19TikTok <a href="https://x.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1881030712188346459" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> it “is in the process of restoring service” and thanked Trump for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties,” adding the company “will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”



11:55 a.m. EST, January 19TikTok now greets users with a popup saying it is “working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible”—but the message no longer praises Trump for promising to “work with” the platform, after <a href="https://x.com/mikeisaac/status/1880826325189156936" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drawing some criticism</a>.



10:00 a.m. EST, January 19Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113855616848696050" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> he will sign an executive order Monday delaying the TikTok ban and called for the platform to be taken over by a joint venture with U.S. and current owners, also urging companies to prevent TikTok from “going dark” and vowing “no liability” for any tech firms that act before Monday (the law gives Trump the power to extend the ban for up to 90 days if ByteDance is making progress toward a sale).



7:03 a.m. EST, January 19Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113854921940858148" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted</a> to Truth Social: “SAVE TIKTOK.”



12:00 a.m. EST, January 19A nationwide ban on TikTok took effect, formally barring internet service providers and app stores from offering the ultra-popular social media platform.



11:00 p.m. EST, January 18TikTok shut itself down in the United States at some point before 11 p.m. EST, greeting American users with a message that said “you can’t use TikTok for now” due to a “law banning TikTok” set to take effect Sunday—but the platform noted Trump “has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” (Read <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/18/tiktok-shuts-down-in-us-before-ban-takes-effect-heres-what-to-know/">more here</a>.)



12:30 p.m. EST, January 18Trump <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/18/trump-says-hell-most-likely-delay-tiktok-ban-for-90-days/">signaled</a> he would “most likely” issue a 90-day extension on the TikTok ban, saying an announcement would “probably” come Monday, though he did not definitively say whether he would do so.



January 17TikTok said in a <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktokjan-17" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> its service will “be forced to go dark” on Jan. 19 unless the Biden administration—which <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/17/statement-by-white-house-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-regarding-tiktok/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> earlier on Friday TikTok “should remain available to Americans” if “under American ownership”—guarantees Apple, Google and other service providers won’t be punished by supporting the app.



January 17The Supreme Court ruled the law does not violate the First Amendment rights of the app and its users, upholding the federal government’s national security argument and leaving TikTok open to a ban on Jan. 19 unless it is sold to an American company.



January 16The Biden administration does not plan to intervene against the law forcing TikTok’s ban or sale by Jan. 19, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/politics/biden-administration-tiktok-ban/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a> <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-leave-trump-implement-tiktok-ban/story?id=117753133&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-16/tiktok-poised-for-reprieve-as-trump-team-pledges-extension?srnd=homepage-asia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlets</a>, one day after <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-administration-keep-tiktok-available-us-rcna187902" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC News</a> reported Biden’s team was “exploring options” on how it can avoid the app being shut down—though <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-leave-trump-implement-tiktok-ban/story?id=117753133&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ABC reports</a> Biden also won’t take action to enforce the ban against app stores or internet providers.



January 16Schumer <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/news/press-releases/leader-schumer-floor-remarks-urging-an-extension-of-the-tiktok-ban_to-allow-time-for-a-workable-solution--to-protect-americans-livelihoods-and-protect-against-ccp-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it is “clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer,” noting Senate Democrats’ failed attempt to <a href="https://x.com/SenateDems/status/1879965995759980830" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pass a bill</a> extending the Jan. 19 deadline and urging lawmakers for a solution that keeps TikTok in the U.S. while also protecting Americans’ data privacy (the law banning TikTok unless ByteDance sells the app passed on a bipartisan basis last year).



January 15TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/16/tiktok-ceo-will-reportedly-attend-trumps-inauguration-as-ban-threat-looms/">expected to attend</a> Trump’s inauguration, according to The New York Times.



January 14ByteDance <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/14/heres-how-much-elon-musk-could-buy-tiktok-for-as-china-reportedly-eyes-deal/">would likely expect</a> $40 billion to $50 billion for the platform’s U.S. operations, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated (other analysts have offered <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2025/01/15/how-much-billions-tiktok-really-worth-possible-ban/">a range of figures</a> for how much TikTok is worth, depending on whether the deal includes TikTok’s powerful content algorithm).



January 13Chinese government officials have considered selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Trump-allied billionaire Elon Musk if the Supreme Court does not stop the ban from going through on Jan. 19, reported <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-14/china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-musk-as-one-possible-option" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a>, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter—though the people noted the deliberations are preliminary and officials prefer to keep TikTok under the ownership of China-based ByteDance (ByteDance told Forbes it “can&#8217;t be expected to comment on pure fiction” when asked about the Bloomberg report).



January 10The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the law requiring TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or face a ban, with justices appearing “inclined” to uphold the law after appearing satisfied with its focus on the controversial Chinese ownership of the app’s parent company, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/10/us/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/supreme-court-tiktok-ban-law?smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The New York Times</a>.



January 9Billionaire <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ahead-of-january-19-deadline-project-liberty-announces-a-formal-offer-to-acquire-tiktok-us-302346575.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank McCourt</a>’s Project Liberty announced a proposal to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations—but not its algorithm—by migrating American users to a locally run digital infrastructure, a deal McCourt <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2025/01/15/how-much-billions-tiktok-really-worth-possible-ban/">has suggested</a> could be worth $20 billion, with interest from other investors like “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary (it’s unclear whether ByteDance is considering the offer).



January 6O’Leary, part of <a href="https://www.thepeoplesbid.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The People&#8217;s Bid for TikTok</a>, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum he <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/kevin-oleary-buy-tiktok-shark-tank/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planned to buy</a> the app and that he would need Trump’s help to do so.



January 3The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to uphold the law forcing the ban or sale of TikTok despite Trump’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/01/03/can-trump-stop-tiktok-ban-heres-what-he-can-and-cant-do-if-supreme-court-upholds-law/">support of the app</a>, arguing TikTok has not shown enough to reason to justify a pause of the law’s date of taking effect and that Trump has not presented a viable argument for a pause.



December 27, 2024Trump opposed the potential ban of TikTok in a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-656/336151/20241227163400981_2024-12-27%20-%20TikTok%20v.%20Garland%20-%20Amicus%20Brief%20of%20President%20Donald%20J.%20Trump.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court filing</a>, arguing if the Supreme Court intervenes, he could secure a “political resolution” after his Jan. 20 inauguration that would keep the app in the U.S.



December 18, 2024The Supreme Court announced it will review TikTok’s challenge against the federal law that could potentially ban the app, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/18/supreme-court-will-decide-tiktok-bans-fate-as-justices-take-up-case/">scheduling oral arguments</a> for Jan. 10—just days before the law is set to become effective.



December 16, 2024TikTok requested an injunction from the Supreme Court that would <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/16/tiktok-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-federal-ban/">block the ban</a> against it until the conservative majority court rules on TikTok’s legality or dismisses the case, saying the pause would “create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review &#8230; before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed.”



December 16, 2024Chew met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1868761606542524712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a>, and argued an injunction from the Supreme Court, which was ultimately not granted, would give Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/11/12/trump-tiktok-ban-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok-friendly administration</a> time to comment on the matter.



December 6, 2024The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/06/tiktok-ban-upheld-in-court/">denied TikTok’s petition</a> to review the law against TikTok after the court’s three-judge panel said national security concerns outweigh TikTok’s First Amendment rights, later declining TikTok’s request to halt its ruling upholding the law.



May 14, 2024Eight TikTok users sued the federal government, accusing them of First Amendment violations and calling the ban “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/05/14/tiktok-users-sue-federal-government-over-potential-ban/">unconstitutionally overbroad</a>.”



May 7, 2024TikTok <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2024/05/07/tiktok-fights-back-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-its-suit-against-the-us-government/">filed suit</a> against the federal government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and arguing the app and its American users were having their First Amendment rights violated.



April 24, 2024President Joe Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to be sold or banned, provoking a response from the platform, which claimed in a <a href="https://x.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1783149300471525637" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> it “invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation.”



April 23, 2024The Senate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/04/23/potential-tiktok-ban-clears-key-senate-vote-part-of-israel-ukraine-taiwan-aid-package/">voted 80-19</a> to pass the bill, which Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said was done to “prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel.”



April 20, 2024The House in an overwhelming <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/04/20/house-approves-nationwide-tiktok-ban-heres-what-to-know/">360-58</a> vote passed the legislation against TikTok, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saying in a <a href="https://x.com/nicholaswu12/status/1767910828861174000" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> the legislation was “designed to address legitimate national security and privacy concerns.”

Wildly Popular Social Media App TikTok Unavailable For U.S. Users

TikTok Ban Live Updates: TikTok Back Online For Many Users—As Trump Promises To Delay US Ban

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



A federal appeals court has upheld a federal ban on TikTok that would make the app unavailable to American users starting in January, and while TikTok is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/09/tiktok-asks-to-pause-ban-while-it-appeals-to-supreme-court/">doing all it can</a>&nbsp;to reverse the decision, users still have time to save their favorite videos before they potentially disappear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Using TikTok on desktop is the easiest way to save videos created either by a logged-in account or that have privacy settings that allow them to be downloaded.



Videos with the proper settings on TikTok.com can be downloaded to a desktop computer as .mp4 files by right clicking and choosing “Download Video” (if there is no download video option, the creator of the video has probably changed settings to stop third party downloads).



On mobile, videos can be saved by tapping the Share button in the lower-right corner of the screen when a TikTok video is pulled up, tapping &#8220;save video,&#8221; and choosing from the list of choices including options to send as an email attachment, upload to Google Drive or save locally to the device.



When downloading directly from TikTok, either on desktop or mobile, a one-video-at-a-time approach is the only option, but several third-party services offer to save more than one at once.



<a href="http://repurpose.io/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Repurpose.io,</a>&nbsp;a software company, allows creators to publish videos simultaneously across multiple platforms after they&#8217;ve been made in the TikTok app, and also has an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thekeirajones/video/7345992968609811755" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">option</a>&nbsp;to download every video made on an account to Google Drive, allowing creators to save all of their work locally.



A Chrome web browser extension called&nbsp;<a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/myfavett-download-all-tik/gmajiifkcmjkehmngbopoobeplhoegad?pli=1" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">myfaveTT</a>&nbsp;promises to export all of a user&#8217;s liked and favorited videos to .mp4 files—and keep them sorted into folders as made within the app.



Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts:&nbsp;We’re launching text message alerts so you&#8217;ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to&nbsp;<a href="https://tel:2013350739/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">(201) 335-0739</a>&nbsp;or sign up&nbsp;<a href="https://joinsubtext.com/forbes" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



How legal efforts around the TikTok ban, currently set to start Jan. 19, progress. The company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/09/tiktok-asks-to-pause-ban-while-it-appeals-to-supreme-court/">on Friday&nbsp;</a>had its emergency motion for an injunction denied that would have stopped the ban from taking effect until the Supreme Court could decide whether to take up the case—and so President-elect Donald Trump could potentially step in to stop the ban after being sworn into office. Now, the company will have to appeal to the Supreme Court and the justices would have to issue a decision by Jan. 19.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



President Joe Biden signed a TikTok ban into law in April after increasing concerns from lawmakers about data privacy and its Chinese ties. Although TikTok has long denied having any links to the Chinese government, the new law said parent company ByteDance would need to sell its stake in the social media platform to stop it from being banned in the United States. TikTok fought in court, arguing the ban infringes on the company’s First Amendment rights, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/06/tiktok-ban-upheld-in-court/">denied</a>&nbsp;its petition to review the law and upheld the ban. On Monday, TikTok filed an emergency motion for an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/09/tiktok-asks-to-pause-ban-while-it-appeals-to-supreme-court/">injunction</a>&nbsp;asking the ban to be paused while it asks the Supreme Court to take up the case. That was denied Friday. In its filing, TikTok also said the pause would allow the Trump administration time to weigh in on the legal dispute. Trump reportedly wants to stop the TikTok ban, but how and if he could is still unclear. On Friday, members of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2024/12/13/congress-warns-apple-and-google-they-must-ban-tiktok-in-january/">Congress sent letters</a>&nbsp;to the CEOs of Apple, Google and TikTok reminding them that TikTok will need to be removed from app stores by Jan. 19.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-would-a-tiktok-ban-actually-work">How Would A Tiktok Ban Actually Work?</h2>



It’s not completely clear how the banning of the application, which is used by about&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/year-on-tiktok-2024" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">170 million</a>&nbsp;Americans, would work, but it’s unlikely it would simply disappear from the phones of U.S. users. Instead, the law would penalize internet providers and companies with App stores like Apple and Google for continuing to make updates available,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/tiktok-ban.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported, so the app would degrade over time and become unusable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-changing-location-settings-help-avoid-the-tiktok-ban">Can Changing Location Settings Help Avoid The Tiktok Ban?</h2>



Yes and no. Even disabling location services or changing your location within TikTok is unlikely to stop the app from trying to infer an approximate location using other factors (like device settings), which may mean the ban still applies. Users who are able to use a virtual private network (VPN) to change their local IP address, however, may have a good chance of getting around the ban by rerouting their connection through another country. VPNs are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2024/09/effectiveness-of-vpns-in-bypassing-censorship/#:~:text=VPNs%20bypass%20censorship%20by%20allowing,the%20desired%20content%20is%20accessible." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">often used</a>&nbsp;by people in countries with strict information laws to access censored information and websites.

In this photo illustration the TikTok logo seen displayed on

How To Save Your Favorite TikTok Videos—Ahead Of Possible Ban Next Month

As the Fourth of July drew to a close, Ziggi Tyler, 23, of Chicago, decided to use his holiday downtime to update his bio on TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, a new part of the app where influencers like Tyler connect with brands to strike sponsorship deals. Tyler is a Black influencer who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ziggityler?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uses TikTok</a>&nbsp;and other platforms to post comedy vlogs, and he wanted to highlight his background to marketers who might want to launch racial justice campaigns or ads featuring more diverse talent. But when he went to include words and phrases like “Black,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Black support,” he made an uncomfortable discovery: The app wouldn’t allow him to include them, flagging the words as inappropriate content and making it impossible for him to publish the new bio.



“It’s very odd, it’s very strange—it’s very frustrating,” says Tyler.



TikTok doesn’t deny that this happened to Tyler. It says the content moderation algorithm within the Creator Marketplace, launched in mid 2020, is a work in progress. The problem stretched into Wednesday afternoon—at that time, TikTok placed a block on anyone updating their marketplace bios. The company says it has since corrected the faulty AI, though any changes to the bios still cannot go through.



TikTok says the algorithm flagged the phrases because Tyler had also written the word “audience” in his bio, and the AI had been taught to flag bios that included the word “die,” which is contained within the word “audience,” and things like “Black” and “Black Lives Matter” as possible hate speech.



“Our TikTok Creator Marketplace protections, which flag phrases typically associated with hate speech, were erroneously set to flag phrases without respect to word order,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “We recognize and apologize for how frustrating this was to experience.”



For his part, Tyler finds TikTok’s explanation specious. “I could write out ‘neo nazi’ and ‘white supremacy’ no problem, and that’s cool,” he says. “But I just went in 30 minutes ago and tried to add ‘Black Lives Matter’ again, and it wasn’t allowed.” While TikTok had an explanation for why Tyler couldn’t fill out his bio with those phrases, the company didn’t offer one for something else: Tyler’s videos for now can’t be as easily shared on TikTok as videos from most other influencers. The Stitch and Duet functions, two common features that allow users to republish another person’s TikToks, have been disabled on Tyler’s account, making it harder for his videos to go viral. (TikTok denies turning off these features, saying only a user can do so. Tyler, in turn, says he didn’t mute them either.) Nonetheless, his videos talking about his experience over the past few days have done nearly 2.5 million views.  



<figure class="wp-block-embed"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6981541023633771269?refer=embed
</div></figure>



There’s been a growing tension between TikTok and the Black community on its app. During last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, several Black creators&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/5863350/tiktok-black-creators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alleged</a>&nbsp;that TikTok was suppressing content about the protests and George Floyd’s death, something the company has denied doing. TikTok did admit a “technical glitch” affected the view counts around hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd, making it seem that they had received zero or very few views when in fact they’d been watched millions of times. Most recently, some Black influencers staged what they called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/06/25/heres-why-black-dancers-are-protesting-against-tiktok/">a virtual strike</a>, going silent on the app to protest an unfair bias among advertisers on the app that favors white creators.&nbsp;



Moreover, TikTok has struggled at points to grow from an app featuring dances and stunts into a social network where politics and other weighty issues are discussed—even as its user base has ballooned to more than 700 million users worldwide, complicating that calculus. As recently as late 2019, the company’s top executives&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/05/05/tiktok-trump-bytedance/">were actively weighing</a>&nbsp;whether they should find ways to tamp down content about politics, going as far as to consider turning off its key algorithmic feed during elections, including the 2020 presidential contest in America.&nbsp;



Tyler, bearded and habitually clad in a knit cap, joined TikTok back in February 2020 and established a niche for himself with humorous videos, talking about topics like his apperance, sex and white influencers. He has since accumulated 368,000 followers, and in October, he joined TikTok’s Creator Fund, which pays out to creators who create popular enough videos. Tyler, a recent Southern Illinois University graduate, joined the Creator Marketplace the following January. He hasn’t struck any brand deals yet—rejecting a few overtures from companies he found less than reputable—but hopes to in the coming months.



“I’m genuinely just here to make people laugh, feel good about themselves, feel confident, feel sexy,” Tyler says. “I just want people to love themselves and have a good time. Because there&#8217;s so much hate in the world.”

Trump Approves TikTok Takeover By Oracle And Walmart

TikTok Blocked Creators From Adding ‘Black’ And ‘Black Lives Matter’ To Bios

The Pakistani government has banned TikTok, claiming that it has received a number of complaints against “immoral/indecent” content on the video-sharing app, a move that comes a few months after the platform received a “final warning” on the issue.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h3>



The ban was&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1314536530325762048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314536532791963649%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medianama.com%2F2020%2F10%2F223-tiktok-ban-pakistan%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued</a>&nbsp;by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) which said in a press release that it had given TikTok “considerable time” to develop an “effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content,” but the platform failed to do so.



The regulator, however, left the door open to review its decision if TikTok manages to create a “satisfactory mechanism” to moderate content.



While issuing TikTok a warning in July, Pakistan had&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1285287980370931712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;a Chinese-owned live-streaming app Bigo for similar reasons.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h3>



Pakistan-based digital and women&#8217;s rights lawyer Nighat Dad told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;that the ban is being seen as unconstitutional and a violation of people’s fundamental rights. “The lack of transparency around the PTA’s decision means that one authority can choose to ban anything by calling it immoral,” she said. “TikTok offered breathing space for people who consider themselves as minorities in the country, and the platform enabled them to enjoy the freedom that they did not find in public spaces.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h3>



43 million. That’s the total number of times the TikTok app has been downloaded in Pakistan, according to data shared by mobile app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Prior to the ban Pakistan was TikTok’s 12th largest market.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h3>



In June, Pakistan’s neighbor India had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/06/29/india-bans-tiktok-58-other-chinese-apps-citing-security-concerns/#3054d1157e60">banned</a>&nbsp;the Chinese-owned video-sharing app claiming that it was stealing users’ personal data. India’s Ministry of Electronics &amp; IT said it had taken the decision after receiving “many complaints” of TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.” The video-sharing platform has also been threatened with a ban in the U.S. by the Trump administration over a similar allegation of sharing user data with the Chinese government, something TikTok vehemently denies.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Internet platforms have regularly run afoul of Pakistan’s laws on morality and objectionable content. YouTube, which has borne the brunt of such actions so far, was banned for more than three years between September 2012 and January 2016. The video-sharing platform was only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-youtube-idUSKCN0UW1ER" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reinstated</a>&nbsp;after it launched a local version that allows the government to demand the removal of material it considers offensive. In August this year, the Pakistani telecom regulator&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medianama.com/2020/08/223-pakistan-youtube-objetionable-videos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked</a>&nbsp;YouTube to “immediately block vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude and hate speech content” in the country. In September, the country had&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1300778356288425984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300778356288425984%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medianama.com%2F2020%2F09%2F223-pakistan-bans-tinder-grindr%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;dating apps Tinder and Grindr calling them “immoral or indecent.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/06/29/india-bans-tiktok-58-other-chinese-apps-citing-security-concerns/#3054d1157e60">India Bans TikTok, 58 Other Chinese Apps, Citing Security Concerns</a> (Forbes)



-By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Pakistan Bans TikTok For Allowing ‘Immoral/Indecent’ Content

TikTok received a lifeline Sunday evening when a federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pacermonitor.com/view/W23REIQ/TIKTOK_INC_et_al_v_TRUMP_et_al__dcdce-20-02658__0029.0.pdf?mcid=tGE3TEOA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued a preliminary injunction</a>&nbsp;against the U.S. government’s decision to ban downloads of the app.



The ban was set to begin at midnight tonight, and the legal maneuver was TikTok’s final gambit to prevent the ban from going into effect, a decision that it had said would begin to erode its business across the world.



“I am very happy that the court has granted an injunction preventing the implementation of the TikTok ban that would have prohibited new users to download the app,” TikTok’s interim chief Vanessa Pappas&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/v_ness/status/1310390934190792704" target="_blank">wrote on Twitter</a>. “We will continue to seek to protect the rights of our users, partners, artists, employees, businesses, and creators.”



President Trump is forcing TikTok’s China-owned parent company, ByteDance, to sell off the app, citing concerns that ByteDance could be unduly pressured by the the Chinese government. ByteDance appears to have a deal worked out with Oracle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ORCL</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle">+0.8%</a>&nbsp;and Walmart&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walmart" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WMT</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walmart">+0.4%</a>, but the terms of the transactions aren’t clear, and both sides have made conflicting comments since announcing the deal last week.



The deal seems to have the U.S. government’s approval, and it now must get a sign off from China’s government. It’s not certain that Chinese authorities will do so with many critics in China unhappy about Trump’s pressure on ByteDance to spin off what was a crown jewel of the country’s technology sector into American hands.



TikTok was a social media phenomenon until it found itself in the president’s crosshairs. It has more than 100 million users in America, and until this summer, it was adding more than 400,000 daily users each day. Then, in August, Trump issued two executive orders that would kill the app in American, a move meant to force ByteDance into selling TikTok.



The first executive order is what TikTok and the government were fighting about in federal court this weekend. It prohibits new downloads but allows the app to keep operating. The second executive order would halt TikTok’s entire U.S. operations beginning Nov. 12. But even this first ban would curtail TikTok’s growth and drive users toward other competing platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube and several much smaller rivals.



Sunday’s court proceedings were only the latest dramatic chapter in the drama surrounding TikTok, which has played out in surprisingly public fashion and involved some of the richest and most powerful figures in politics and business. While lawyers appeared in court early Sunday morning, Judge Carl Nichols did not hand out his decision until around 8:30 this evening, hours before the ban’s start.



-By Abram Brown,Forbes Staff

Tag: tiktok ban

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