- Genesis -
In 2016, Beijing-based ByteDance launched Douyin, a short video sharing app, making it available only in China.
ByteDance released TikTok for the international market the following year, shortly before buying song "lip-synching" app Musical.ly and merging it into TikTok.
The social network became a hit with its algorithm serving up endless collections of short, looping, typically playful videos posted by users.
- Pandemic boom -
TikTok's popularity soared during the Covid-19 pandemic declared in 2020, as people enduring lockdowns relied on the internet for diversion and entertainment.
As a result, authorities began eyeing TikTok's influence and addictive appeal.
TikTok became one of the most downloaded apps in the world as officials grew increasingly wary of the potential for the Chinese government to influence ByteDance or access user data.
India banned TikTok in July of 2020 due to tensions with China.
- Targeted by Trump -
While Donald Trump was US president in 2020, he signed executive orders to ban TikTok in the country.
Trump accused TikTok, without proof, of siphoning off American users' data to benefit Beijing and of censoring posts to please Chinese officials.
Trump's decision came against a backdrop of political tension between Washington and Beijing.
During a failed bid for re-election, the Republican campaigned on an anti-China message.
Between legal challenges and Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, the executive orders did not take effect.
- Billion mark -
In September 2021, TikTok announced it had 1 billion monthly users worldwide.
But concerns grew about TikTok users facing risks of addiction, propaganda, and spying.
In 2022, BuzzFeed reported that ByteDance employees based in China had accessed non-public information from TikTok users.
ByteDance tried to cool privacy concerns by hosting user data on servers managed in the United States by Oracle.
The move did not ease concerns in the United States, where TikTok was banned from devices used by the military.
An array of other government agencies and academic institutes followed suit, forbidding members from using TikTok.
TikTok's Singaporean chief executive Shou Zi Chew was grilled by members of the US Congress during a 6-hour hearing in March of 2023.
- Sell or go -
TikTok was back in the hot seat in the United States in 2024, when President Joe Biden authorized a law requiring TikTok to be banned if ByteDance does not sell the app to a company not associated with a national security adversary.
Washington's stated aim is to cut the risk of Beijing spying on or manipulating TikTok users, particularly the 170 million US users of the app.
TikTok remains adamant that it has never shared user data with the Chinese government or done its bidding at the social network.
ByteDance sued the US government, arguing the law violates free speech rights.
A final decision in that case is to be made by the US Supreme Court, which agreed on Tuesday to examine whether the pending ban violates the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the matter for January 10.
President-elect Donald Trump, who returns to office on January 20, has signaled he might intervene on TikTok's behalf.
Trump recently spoke of having a "soft spot" for TikTok, and this year his campaign used the app to win support from young voters.
US Supreme Court agrees to hear TikTok ban case
Washington (AFP) Dec 18, 2024 -
The US Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear TikTok's appeal of a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the online video-sharing platform or shut it down.
The top court scheduled oral arguments in the case for January 10, nine days before TikTok faces a ban unless ByteDance divests from the popular app.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, would block TikTok from US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells its stake by January 19.
TikTok is arguing that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates its First Amendment free speech rights.
"Congress has enacted a massive and unprecedented speech restriction," TikTok said in a filing with the Supreme Court.
Should the law take effect it would "shutter one of America's most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration," TikTok said.
"This, in turn, will silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern," it added.
"Applicants -- as well as countless small businesses who rely on the platform -- also will suffer substantial and unrecoverable monetary and competitive harms."
A TikTok spokesman said the company is "pleased with today's Supreme Court order."
"We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights," the TikTok spokesman said in a statement.
The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as Donald Trump prepares to take office as president on January 20.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump said he has "a warm spot" for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential ban.
Trump has emerged as an unlikely TikTok ally amid concerns that a ban on the app would mainly benefit Meta, the Facebook parent company owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
Trump's stance reflects conservative criticism of Meta for allegedly suppressing right-wing content, including the former president himself being banned from Facebook after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot by his supporters.
Trump's support for TikTok marks a reversal from his first term, when the Republican leader tried to ban the app over similar security concerns.
The US government alleges TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It also says the video hosting service is a conduit to spread propaganda, though China and ByteDance strongly deny these claims.
A three-judge US appeals court panel earlier this month unanimously upheld the law's premise that TikTok divesting from Chinese ownership "is essential to protect our national security."
AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.
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