You could soon need a VPN to use TikTok in the US

Date:
Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:32:41 +0000

Description:
A US TikTok ban now looks closer than ever as the January 19 deadline for
Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest gets closer. Here's all you need
to know.

FULL STORY
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Americans could soon need one of the best VPN apps to keep using TikTok. 

A US TikTok ban now looks more probable than ever following the decision made
by the federal appeals court on Friday (December 6, 2024). The decision
upholds a law requiring TikToks China-based parent company, ByteDance, to 
sell the video-sharing app to an American firm by January 19, 2025, or face a
nationwide ban. 

While TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to file a legal appeal with the US 
Supreme Court, the new Trump administration  set to commence a day after the
divesting deadline  is also expected to reverse TikTok's new policy.

Why does the US seek to ban TikTok?

Tensions between the US government and TikTok aren't new. The platform's
invasive data collection practices and ties to China have raised concerns 
over Americans' privacy rights and national security risks since the
video-sharing app began gaining popularity in the States. 

At the time, US President Donald Trump was the first to push for the Chinese
company to divest or risk a total ban in 2020. Such plans would later be
interrupted after TikTok filed a lawsuit against the US government and the 
new President Joe Biden revoked the measure. 

Now, about four years later, the tables have turned again. Trump has vowed to
save TikTok during his political campaign to, as the Financial Times reported
, "preserve competition in a market dominated by Mark Zuckerbergs Meta." 

On the contrary, Biden has been busy finding a solution to the TikTok problem
since the end of 2022 when he first signed an unprecedented order to bar
TikTok from all federal government devices . 

After that, there were various attempts to find a way to overcome the legal
challenges of banning TikTok, such as the First Amendment which protects
American freedom of speech. The proposed RESTRICT ACT gained momentum in 2023
but didn't manage to finally get the green light. Do you know? (Image credit:
Getty Images) Montana was the first US state expected to ban TikTok from all
devices starting from January 1, 2024. This didn't happen, however, as a
federal judge blocked the law before being enforced, in November 2023. Now,
following Friday's decision, the fate of Montana's TikTok ban may be turning
again. 

Fast-forward to April 2024, a new proposal (Protecting Americans from Foreign
Adversary Controlled Applications Act) became law after gaining bipartisan
support in the US House of Representatives. It rules out a widespread ban on
TikTok's operation unless ByteDance sells it to an American firm. 

The law came into force despite TikTok taking steps to ensure data privacy 
for US users . In 2022, the company moved all Americans' data to servers 
owned by Oracle US and based within the country. The company also opened the
first data center in Europe a year later on similar grounds. 

Perhaps the most downloaded app worldwide, TikTok counts over 150 active 
users per month in the US alone. 

Researchers suggest that Americans are increasingly using the app to keep up
with the news . US activists use the Chinese social media giant to spread
their messages, too, while it also helps US businesses  especially the
smallest ones  to thrive. 

This is why digital rights experts are concerned following the decision the 
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit filed on Friday. 

Kate Ruane from the Centre for Democracy & Technology (CDT) told TechRadar:
"The TikTok ban will immeasurably harm the free expression of hundreds of
millions of TikTok users in the US and globally who use the app to create, to
share information, to get their news, and promote their businesses. We hope
the next phase of review of this misguided and overbroad law will be a chance
to right this wrong and prevent it from going into effect."

How a TikTok VPN can help

A VPN (short for virtual private network ) is security software that encrypts
all your internet connections, to prevent third-party access, while spoofing
your real IP address location. The latter is exactly what you need to bypass
geo-restrictions on social media platforms, like those that could soon be
enforced in the US against TikTok. 

In case ByteDance refuses to sell by January 19, US authorities could block
TikTok usage at an ISP (internet service provider) level. In this scenario,
using a TikTok VPN will be an easy way to get around the block simply by
connecting to a VPN server located outside the US, in a country where TikTok
isn't banned. 

Another option may be for the US government to order app stores to completely
remove TikTok from their platforms. This means you won't be able to download
and install the app from the official stores and will, instead, need to find
an alternative source. 

Experts warn that such a move, however, would de-facto put user data at major
risk, as US users won't be able to keep updating their TikTok application to
fix security bugs. Also, risks for malware infection are also greater when
downloading apps from unofficial stores.

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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/you-could-soon-need-a-vpn-t
o-use-tiktok-in-the-us

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