AILSA CHANG, HOST:
A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a law that could ban TikTok starting next month. The court ruled that TikTok poses a real national security threat because the app's owner, ByteDance, is based in China. But President elect Donald Trump has promised to save TikTok - a reversal of his previous position. We're joined now by NPR's Bobby Allyn to help us understand what this all means for the future of TikTok. Hi, Bobby.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Hey. What's up, Ailsa?
CHANG: Hey. OK, so how did the court justify its ruling here?
ALLYN: Yeah. This case was testing two things - free speech and national security. On the one hand, the Justice Department argued that the only way to protect national security is to ban TikTok unless it breaks away from its China-based parent company. On the other hand, TikTok said the government shutting down a social media platform used by half of America is a First Amendment violation. Now, the court, Ailsa, ruled in kind of an interesting way. It combined the two ideas. So the court agreed with the Justice Department by upholding this TikTok ban law but based it on free-speech grounds. The court said, by preventing China from tinkering with the algorithm, the law, quote, "vindicates the values that undergird the First Amendment."
CHANG: Huh.
ALLYN: In other words, the court says it is both protecting national security and preventing free speech manipulation by China in allowing TikTok to be banned here.
CHANG: Clever, clever. OK, well, now that the TikTok ban law has been upheld, is TikTok actually going to be banned?
ALLYN: Right. Well, we just don't know. Under the law, starting on January 19, Apple and Google must kick TikTok out of app stores, and web-hosting companies will not be allowed to host TikTok. Now, this isn't like there's some giant, you know, ban TikTok button that's going to be pushed, and then everything will turn off, right? Once TikTok is booted from app stores, software updates won't reach the app, and it'll get slow and glitchy, and eventually it just won't be usable at all. But the day the law goes into effect - you know, the following day, January 20 - Trump will be sworn into office.
CHANG: Yeah.
ALLYN: And Trump says he will find a way to rescue the app, which can take on many forms, but Trump has a lot of power in this situation.
CHANG: OK, so what options does Trump have?
ALLYN: So there are at least three options here. First, Trump could extend the ban deadline to buy some time. That's kind of a temporary fix. Secondly, he could instruct his administration not to enforce the law. And finally, Trump could try to orchestrate some kind of deal for TikTok to be purchased - you know, using this ban law as leverage. This would require the Chinese government to sign off, but analysts I've been talking to, who are in touch with Chinese regulators, say Beijing is warming up to the idea of having ByteDance sell TikTok's U.S. operation if it means some trade concessions.
CHANG: Huh.
ALLYN: You know, they could get something out of this. Remember, Trump has promised really harsh tariffs on Chinese imports.
CHANG: Exactly. Meanwhile, I imagine the court battle is not over, right?
ALLYN: It is far from over. TikTok said in a statement that they plan to take it to the Supreme Court, but it is, of course, not guaranteed that the high court will review the decision. TikTok, though - you know, they say they are very hopeful the Supreme Court will step in and overturn the law.
CHANG: OK. Well, in the meantime, how safe should we all feel while we are using TikTok? What do you think?
ALLYN: Yeah, you know, it really depends, Ailsa, on how you see it, right? TikTok has long said its U.S. operations, which are based in Los Angeles, are completely walled off from China. But TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, do share staff. They share an algorithm, and data flows between LA and China, right? So that is just the reality. There are no public examples of the Chinese government using TikTok to collect data or push pro-China narratives or to push propaganda, but U.S. officials and the Justice Department say the possibility alone of that happening is just too great a risk, and the DOJ says TikTok needs to be banned.
CHANG: That is NPR's Bobby Allyn. Thank you, Bobby.
ALLYN: Hey, thanks, Ailsa.
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