TikTok’s case could set a precedent for social media app bans

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this week about a pending ban on social media app TikTok, an outcome of a law signed by President Biden last April that would take effect Jan. 19.

Oliver Haimson, assistant professor of information at the University of Michigan, said the stakes are high not only for China-based owner ByteDance to sell the app—which the company says violates First Amendment rights—but also for the reported 170 million TikTok users in the United States. The federal government has said the app threatens national security.

Do you expect the SCOTUS justices to rule immediately?

Yes, I think it is likely that SCOTUS will rule prior to January 19, since this is such a high-stakes, time-sensitive issue that impacts national security and free speech rights for so many Americans who use TikTok.

Will people still be able to use TikTok if the ban is upheld?

As long as they keep the TikTok app on their phone (even though it would likely no longer be available in app stores), Americans will use virtual private networks to continue to use TikTok. When we consider a social media platform that is this popular and that so many people rely on for entertainment, social support, and even making a living, people will be unlikely to stop using it as long as workarounds exist. One big issue, though, is that Americans would probably no longer be able to update the app, which would lead to substantial security issues. Further, using VPNs will be legally risky for Americans.

Can this ruling set a precedent for banning other apps?

Yes, absolutely. With any SCOTUS ruling, its long-term precedent is often even more impactful than the current situation. In this case, I worry about the implications for free speech. That is, if the U.S. government decides that it doesn’t like the type of speech and communication happening on a particular platform, especially a foreign platform, it will have the license to ban that app.

How could this ban impact content creators who rely on TikTok for income?

A TikTok ban will be substantially negative for content creators who use the app to make a living. TikTok has focused quite a bit on commercialization opportunities for creators and “influencers,” and even beyond those uses, many Americans use TikTok to promote their small businesses. It’s an especially important means for business owners to reach young people. Without this platform, many Americans will certainly lose sales and income.

What will happen to the existing content on TikTok if the app is banned?

I think this remains to be seen and will depend on exactly how the ban ends up being implemented. It could be that American users will no longer have access or may have limited access to their TikTok content, which represents a large archive of media that people have spent many hours and resources to create.

How would a ban be enforced and what penalties might there be for using the app?

It’s not yet clear exactly how this would happen, but I imagine that the government would put pressure on the tech companies that manage app stores (Apple and Google) and require them to remove TikTok. The government will also likely target internet service providers for help enforcing the ban. I think it’s unlikely that the government would impose fines on individual app users, but you never know.

What other research have you done on social media app bans?

In our past research on the potential WeChat ban, led by my doctoral advisee Ben Zefeng Zhang, we found that people often rely on technologies as indispensable infrastructures that extend beyond social media to include financial transactions, community building and various other essential functions.

When faced with the possibility of losing access to these infrastructures, people begin cobbling together alternative technologies to meet those needs—a process we call infrastructural migration. However, this process is challenging, as apps like TikTok or WeChat are so deeply embedded in people’s daily lives that they cannot be easily replaced. This leaves people in a very precarious position.