"VPN usage about to sky rocket" — Internet reacts as TikTok plans to shut down in the U.S. until Supreme Court delays or blocks its ban

TikTok plans to shut down its operation in the U.S. if the Supreme Court doesn't delay or block a ban after its upcoming hearing on Friday, January 10, 2024. The ban stems from a law passed last year that requires the social media platform to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance.

According to CBS News, in response, the company made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court last month to pause the incoming law. Beginning Friday, the justice would have just nine days to issue a ruling before the ban takes effect (on January 19).

As news of TikTok's plans to shut down operations went viral, internet users were quick to react. One wrote:

"VPN usage about to sky rocket."

A comment reacting to the news (Image via X/ @PopCrave)

Many questioned why banning a social media platform was more important than other pressing matters like mass shootings. One even raised questions about censoring just one platform when others also breach data. Here are some comments seen under @PopCrave's post on X:

"it really makes no sense why they’re banning tiktok specifically as if other social media apps aren’t also breaching our data to foreign countries...," one wrote.

"the government is more focused on tiktok than mass school shootings we are in the dark times," another commented.

"this really s*cks actually. with meta getting rid of fact checking and x being owned by elon musk, i feel like we are about to enter an era of intense censorship and even more misinformation," a user noted.

Some expressed support for the ban, while others wondered if the government wanted to control the narrative.

"so many ppl are gonna have to get jobs lmao," one stated.

"TikTok has a lot of brain rot like other apps but it’s just not enough US controlled propaganda as it stands. It has nothing to do with data. It has to do with controlling the narrative with us.," another added.

"Bittersweet loss, I am not too attached to TikTok anymore anyway but this means they won’t sell to the US which is resistance against the US taking control of the app," a person reacted.

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President-elect Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court to pause ban on TikTok in a December filing

The United States government has been pushing for TikTok to be banned since 2020, citing national security risks. In April 2024, President Biden signed into law (with bipartisan support) the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

According to CBS News, a new law bans third-party services like Google or Apple from hosting apps controlled by foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran.

ByteDance must divest from its company or face a nationwide ban starting January 19, 270 days after the law's enactment. Lawmakers argue the company's ties to China pose security risks if user data is shared. Opponents claim the ban violates free speech, arguing the platform serves as a vital communication tool and income source for many.

A group of eight TikTokers challenged the law in a legal appeal. Quoting the filing, CBS News wrote:

"(The law) violates the First Amendment because it suppresses the speech of American creators based primarily on an asserted government interest—policing the ideas Americans hear—that is anathema to our nation's history and tradition and irreconcilable with this court's precedents."

However, in December the appeals court upheld the government's argument.

Per CBS News, in response, the company made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court last month to pause the incoming law. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, and the justice would have nine days to issue a ruling. Per the publication, in a December 19 legal filing, the company argued:

"Absent such relief, the Act will take effect on January 19, 2025. That would shut down TikTok—one of the Nation's most popular speech platforms — for its more than 170 million domestic monthly users on the eve of a presidential inauguration."

President-elect Donald Trump, who previously championed its ban, recently (December 27) asked the Supreme Court to pause the TikTok ban. In an amicus curiae filing, his lawyer reasoned that this would allow the incoming administration to reach a "political resolution."

It is to be noted that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act also allows the president to grant a one-time 90-day extension if a sale was underway.

The court will hear oral arguments starting at 10 a.m. on Friday.