The IT Nerd

In a time when algorithms are shaping everything from trends to tastes, social media feeds shape what users watch, think and even care about. TikTok knows that, and it’s making the For You experience more personal than ever.

Starting today, TikTok is rolling out the latest updates that build on its existing tools and safeguards, making the For You experience more relevant, empowering, and transparent:

• Manage Topics: A new tool to dial up or down how often users see content tied to popular categories like Travel, Creative Arts, Nature, and more.
• Smart Keyword Filters: AI-powered controls that not only block specific keywords, but also intelligently filter out related terms and synonyms.
• A new Educational Guide: A simplified resource that brings together all the ways people can understand and fine-tune their feed—with fresh explainer videos launching globally.

These build on TikTok’s existing suite of tools and safeguards, from “Why this video” explanations and the option to “refresh” a FYP, to restrictions that limit repetitive or age-sensitive content.

You can find out more details here.

For those of you who are late to this story, the Chinese owned social media platform TikTok should have been banned by now in the US. After all Congress passed a law to do just that. But President Trump has kicked the can down the road once after coming into office. And now it appears that he’s done it again:

President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for the TikTok ban by 75 days. Trump shared a post on Truth Social on Friday stating that he is signing an executive order to allow for more time to finalize a deal.

“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.

He continued, “We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!). This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security! We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’ We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Keep in mind that this is the same guy who wanted to ban TikTok and either force a sale or have it go dark. So you have to wonder why he wants to save TikTok. Regardless, we have another 75 days of sitting and waiting to see how this plays out.

Tt appears that TikTok is coming back to life. According to NBC and The New York Times (paywalled) TikTok has announced that it will be flipping the switch on the social media platform to let Americans use it. I’m sure that this will be good news to those who use the platform. But I am not sure it really changes anything. I say that because Trump has said he will give them a 90 day extension via said executive order. So does that mean that 90 days from now we’ll be in the same situation? I think so. But for those who suffer from TikTok brain rot, I am sure that they will be overjoyed that they don’t have to figure out what to do with their free time.

As expected, TikTok is no longer available to US users. When you try to log into TikTok, you get this message:

And this:

Clearly they are counting on incoming president Donald Trump to save them. And he’s indicated that he’s willing to give them a 90 day lifeline to sell themselves to a US entity. That’s closer to his view on TikTok the last time he was US President. But considering that the bill that banned TikTok had broad support from both Democrats and Republicans, and that TikTok’s corporate masters ByteDance have made it clear that they aren’t going to sell, I have to wonder if he will actually be able to get TikTok back online.

Speaking of TikTok being online, several threads have appeared on the Linus Tech Tips subreddit that TikTok is not accessible in other places. Canada and Thailand have been listed as places where TikTok no longer works. And a trip to the TikTok subreddit shows Mexico among other places cannot access TikTok either. I am going to guess that TikTok’s infrastructure likely is designed in such a way that a shut down in the US means a shut down for a lot of other places as well. But we’ll will have to see if that continues to be true in the coming hours and days. In the here and now, TikTok isn’t accessible for millions of people.

So the question has been asked about what TikTok will do now that the US Supreme Court decided not to save them yesterday. We have are answer:

TikTok said the app will have to “go dark” in the United States on Sunday barring a last-minute intervention from the Biden administration to halt enforcement of a federal ban. 

The company said in a statement late Friday that President Joe Biden’s White House and the Justice Department had not provided enough “clarity and assurance” to guarantee the platform could continue operating once the law to force its sale takes effect.

That was followed by this posted to Twitter:

So why would TikTok take this approach? Well, they are clearly not going to sell to a US entity. So that means that they are using going dark to upset enough people that it will put pressure on US politicians to reverse this. I honestly don’t know if that will work because America just came out of an election cycle, so there may be no appetite to reverse this. Though there is a bill on the table to extend the amount of time that TikTok has to sell itself to a US entity. So who knows? All I know is that things are about to get really interesting on Sunday.

The Supreme Court just handed TikTok a virtual death sentence in the US by upholding a law that bans them effective Sunday:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok, beginning Sunday, unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech.

TikTok’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, was given until Sunday to find an American owner for the app or face going dark in the U.S., under bipartisan legislation signed last year by outgoing President Joe Biden.

Now there is a possibility that Donald Trump who takes over as President of the United States as of Monday could save TikTok. Which is interesting as he was anti TikTok the last time he was president. So we will have to see if he is able to do so. But as it stands now, it looks like TikTok will be dead in the US as of Sunday. And one has to wonder if other countries will follow suit.

UPDATE: Here’s some commentary from some industry experts:

Lawrence Pingree, VP, Dispersive

“I think that there are some valid concerns about the involvement of government agencies in espionage and influence operations that are important issues to address. Things like data sovereignty, isolation networks and access, regular trusted third-party audits, background checks, authentication of remote employees, and, potentially, source code review are all prudent measures to require. Bans need to consider the totality of the situation and the politics of the time.”

Ted Miracco, Approov CEO

“Liberty can only thrive when paired with accountability. As the Supreme Court shutters TikTok, it’s a reminder that safeguarding freedom of speech means not just shouting into the void, but doing so with transparency and responsibility. Regardless of where a platform originates, our online spaces must be protected from manipulation to uphold the integrity of our perspectives.”

Willy Leichter, CMO, AppSOC

“If you peel back all the politics, international negotiations, and social media hype, the TikTok ban came from genuine concerns about privacy and national security. To say that banning one platform will permanently affect free speech seems like a stretch. The fickle social media market will quickly find many alternative ways to share content and amuse themselves. Assuming this ruling doesn’t get watered down by the Trump administration, it’s an example of pursuing and acting upon serious security issues.”

Here’s the explanation of the title of this story. Oral arguments were held in the US Supreme Court on Friday, and it didn’t go well for TikTok:

A majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold a controversial ban on TikTok over concerns about its ties to China, with justices lobbing pointed questions at lawyers for the social media app and a group of its content creators.

During more than two hours of oral arguments, many of the justices appeared to view the sell-or-ban law approved by Congress in April not as one that primarily implicates the First Amendment but rather as an effort to regulate the potential foreign control of an app used by 170 million Americans.

Here’s where the “maybe” part comes in:

But even if the court upholds the ban, there remains considerable uncertainty around the app’s accessibility in the Trump administration. Trump has said he wants to save TikTok and the law gives him wide latitude on enforcement.

Keep in mind that in the past, Trump has wanted to do the very thing that this law does. Which is force TikTok to be sold to American interests or be shut down. Now he’s flip flopped. You have to wonder if he owes favours or money to the Chinese or something because that’s as big of a 180 as I have ever seen.

Stay tuned to this story was we’re clearly in the endgame and we’re about to see how this plays out…. Finally.

To be honest, I’m not surprised that the US Supreme Court is going to hear an appeal from TikTok to stop it from being banned in the US:

The country’s highest court set oral arguments in the case for Friday, January 10, just nine days ahead of the looming deadline on January 19. 

It comes after Congress passed a law earlier this year banning TikTok unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its stakes by the deadline. 

Lawmakers were responding to warnings that the wildly popular social media app is a national security concern with the collection of Americans’ data. 

But some 170 million Americans use the video app. 

Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would ban TikTok, violates the First Amendment. 

Both TikTok and the Justice Department were directed to file briefs before 5pm ET on Friday, December 27. 

Will it succeed? Well, I am not a lawyer so I don’t know. But YouTube channel Legal Eagle who is an actual lawyer suggests that Congress has the right to ban TikTok for national security reasons and the courts have tended to steer clear of national security issues in the past. Which is likely why TikTok is going with the First Amendment option as they will argue that a ban violates the free speech of Americans. And there’s the Donald Trump factor. In the past he’s been anti TikTok. But he’s said that he may stop a ban of the social media platform. So who knows where this will go. All I know is that we’re in the endgame now.