As I write, the Supreme Court has just unanimously upheld the ban that would see TikTok disappear in the U.S. this Sunday. Over the week following the Supreme Court hearing, it has become clear that Justices of all stripes would actually be happy for the ban to come into force, as they seemed unconvinced that freedom of expression rights applied through the Chinese-owned app, and they also seemed assured that any switch-off could easily be reversed if the situation changed and ByteDance divested.

ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
But both the incoming and, increasingly, the outgoing administration seem to be stepping away from the cliff edge, which makes for an interesting environment. It seems, in fact, that President Biden, who set up the legislation, has decided not to enforce it during his remaining day in office. This means it will be up to the incoming president to do so—someone who originally called for the ban but subsequently promised to “save TikTok.” All of which makes the whole thing something I believe is technically described as “a bit of a mess.”
The Ruling’s Ramifications for Creators
Part of me imagines I spent last Friday afternoon doing the same as almost every other creator, though maybe not everyone is as enraptured by legal proceedings as I am. The TikTok hearing before the Supreme Court was not just spectacle, though; it has potentially huge ramifications for creators in the U.S.
Though how long-lasting those ramifications might be was one of the few areas that appeared to be cleared up on the day (as opposed to the ruling itself, for which we have been waiting ever since). As you will recall, President-elect Trump has asked for a stay on the deadline for ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok U.S. (the deadline, as set, being January 19). There was a lengthy discussion of whether, if the ban did go ahead, it could be reversed. The answer seemed to be a clear yes. TikTok would be reactivated if the divestment criterion was met, even if that was after the official deadline. There has been speculation that this assurance may have eased the decision of the court.
Can Creators Easily Pivot to Alternatives?
More of the discussion focused on whether creators, whose voices were firmly in the camp against the ban, could simply take their audiences to another platform. This was the most dramatic of several instances when I spat my coffee across my desk. The notion that a multibillion-user app could just spring up tomorrow out of nowhere and some random person might found, code, market, and manage such an app really does seem like the Cloudest of Cuckoolands.
Meanwhile, creators who fear the worst for their future have been looking elsewhere in hope. This has driven Rednote to be the most downloaded app at present, while Lemon8 has also seen huge adoption. The immediate reaction from the creative community has been one of sadness and fear, by and large. Whether they actually face the cliff edge remains to be seen. What everyone still faces, though, is uncertainty!
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