Tiktok can be stopped in the US tonight – put the hope to Trump

Show more

chevron-down

NEW YORK. The clock is ticking for Tiktok – within 24 hours the app can be stopped in the US.

American users are preparing by “thanking their spy” and learning Chinese, but many are still hoping that Trump will intervene at the last minute.

TikToker Matt Haverty, 24, in New York has already posted his farewell.

– I’ve tried not to care, but now it actually feels a bit sad, he says.

Matt Haverty picks up his phone and shows his Tiktok feed.

– It’s almost a little intimate, he says, because the algorithm reveals so much about one’s surfing habits.

He quickly scrolls past some Spider-Man clips while sitting in a cafe in Manhattan. In just a few years, he has built a career through Tiktok.

Matt was one of the first users of Tiktok in the US. It was 2018, or the “golden year”, as he calls it. When it was about creating, discovering and having fun. Not a business opportunity where you crash stuff.

The unique thing was that you could build on other users’ videos and change the context. Like a kind of remix; which turned out to be a creative breeding ground for satire and social commentary.

“Felt like a superstar”

For Matt, who always dreamed of being a comedian, it was perfect. He remembers his first viral video: a Shakespearean monologue about a man who likes turtles. It got 5,000 likes.

– Which was a lot at the time. Then it felt like I was a superstar or president.

Today he has 200,000 followers. It was the response from his audience that gave him the courage to pursue a comedy career in New York. It became an important stepping stone.

But now the future of American Tiktok hangs in the balance.

With over 170 million US users and revenues of around $20 billion this year, Tiktok is a giant in the market. But the app faces a national ban that could force them to shut down their operations in the US as early as Sunday – unless something unexpected happens.

– It is disappointing, says Matt. I love Tiktok.

– A lot of people’s income will be affected, and mine will take a hit because I will have to work harder to build a following on other platforms.

Already a year ago, politicians began to question Tiktok in the US, and Matt realized that he had to spread his content to more platforms.

Seen as a security threat

American politicians see Tiktok as more than a source of entertainment – ​​they consider the app a national security threat.

They point out that the Chinese parent company Bytedance, which owns Tiktok, has connections to the Chinese government. There is concern about how they use Americans’ user data through surveillance and political influence.

A cross-party majority in the US Congress therefore voted to shut down the American part of Tiktok – if it was not sold to an American company before January 19. President Biden signed the bill into law.

With the deadline around the corner, several potential buyers are now being discussed, such as X owner Elon Musk, YouTuber Mr Beast and billionaire Frank McCourt. But Bytedance has so far shown no signs of wanting to sell.

So far, therefore, most things point to the fact that Tiktok may disappear from the American market. In that case, users can no longer download the app or watch the clips via American browsers. For those who already have the app, it should still work – but without updates, it will gradually die on its own.

For Swedes, this may mean that fewer American creators will appear in the app, which may affect which trends and controversies gain traction.

Americans are not alone in worrying about China collecting sensitive data through Tiktok. The EU has not ruled out a ban, and in Sweden several authorities have banned their employees from having the app installed on work phones.

“Would prefer they fixed other issues”

Matt Haverty is aware of the concerns surrounding personal data on apps and says he would be “idiotic and naive” if he didn’t reflect on it.

At the same time, he thinks that we already share so much data that it feels too late to do anything about it, and points out that even American companies have previously shared data with Chinese companies.

– When governments try to decide what people can and can’t see, I think it’s wrong. Governments should use their resources to help citizens, not ban apps.

Haverty believes that politicians should focus on more urgent issues, such as the economy and functioning public transport.

– As a US citizen, I would prefer they fix other issues before they shut down the video platform I use to make silly jokes.

The Tiktok ban is expected to take effect the day before Donald Trump takes office as president. According to Washington Post Trump is then considering issuing an executive order to pause the ban for 60 to 90 days, to allow time to negotiate a political solution. It is still unclear how that would happen.

Although Trump tried to ban Tiktok during his first term as president, he has recently praised the app as a way to reach young voters. Many Tiktok users have been given new hope after reports that Tiktok’s CEO is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration as president on Monday, in a place of honor in the stands.

– I believe it when I see it, says Matt Haverty. That dude has claimed a lot. It would be the first thing he said where I would think, “Good, that would really help me”.

Megan, 26: “Really upset”

A short distance away, in Washington Square Park, some students walk around the quiet fountain during their lunch break. The chilly wind makes the park unusually empty.

Megan Screen, 26, is one of those braving the cold.

– I’m really upset, she says about the Tiktok ban.

– I have lived in the UK for five years, and Tiktok is my way of keeping in touch with my friends.

Nor does she agree with the politicians that Tiktok is a national security threat.

– I don’t think so. It’s mostly a way for young people to express themselves and have fun.

Maybe it’s a generational issue. Harry Demell, 73, who is out for a walk, doesn’t have Tiktok himself. He thinks the ban seems necessary.

– Because of everything that happens internationally with hacking and the use of information, I understand why the government has to act. And I support it.

“Communist threat”

Friends Michael Julsaint and Aiden Kennedy, both 19, are among those upset.

– I think it’s quite crazy, says Michael.

– I laugh a lot when I’m on Tiktok, and I send him a lot of clips, he says and looks at Aiden.

– We have a 300-day Tiktok streak right now

Aiden nods. He believes that the opposition to Tiktok is rooted in an underlying racism against Asians.

– I think it is communist fear to just ban Tiktok because of China. But – it’s not the end of the world. People can read books. Maybe people will get a life now instead of sitting with the phone all the time.

Want to learn Mandarin

The Tiktok shutdown is now causing tens of thousands of users in the US to seek other platforms. And it’s not the Silicon Valley alternatives that are beckoning – but China’s answer to Instagram, Red Note (Xiaohong).

The app has quickly climbed to top positions in the App Store, both in Sweden and the USA. In just two days, Red Note has received 700,000 new users globally.

The Tiktok refugees go so far as to learn Chinese in order to understand the platform, write Techcrunch. According to the language app Duolingo, the number of Americans wanting to learn Mandarin has exploded with the rise in popularity of Red Notes.

Another new trend among Tiktok users in the US has emerged in recent days: saying “goodbye to my Chinese spy”.

Users make fun of the security threat, thanking their fictional spies for monitoring them and providing them with entertaining content. Others are spinning on the trend, recording videos as if they have been Chinese spies, reports say the Verge.

“It is a great honor to have spied on you for the past few years,” says a tiktoker. “I wish you all a good life in the future.”

Posted his last video

While many are looking for new platforms, Matt Haverty is pondering what’s next.

He already posted his last Tiktok video, a couple of days in advance.

He can’t help but joke about how he plans to deal with the ban on Sunday.

– I guess I’ll surround myself with my family. We will gather around my phone and update the app one last time.

There will certainly be new platforms, he says. Sure, he had a hunch that Tiktok would disappear one day. But not now.

– I thought I would be 80 years old, retired, and look at my iPhone 100 and think: “Oh, now it’s gone forever.”