How TikTok has evaded a ban again and again, until now

In the mid-2023 timeframe, TikTok was able to evade an attempt by Congress to ban the app. This was the latest Houdini escape for the young technology company. Three people with knowledge of this project say that a small group within TikTok began formulating a plan in order to ensure the regulatory threat never returned. Three people with knowledge of the project said that a small group of employees at TikTok began formulating a plan to ensure that the regulatory threat would never reappear. They proposed launching a campaign consisting of TV commercials, messages for users, and other public advocacy in order to divert Washington’s attention. They called it Project Achilles.

But TikTok leaders lost interest at the end of the calendar year. People said that Shou Chew and others, including the chief executive of the company, seemed to believe the threat of a banning was no longer imminent. Project Achilles was never implemented. The Supreme Court upheld this law on Friday. TikTok will be removed from app store on Sunday when the law takes effect. The company managed to get out of political dangers time and time again. The threats to its very existence came so often, from so many directions, dealing with them became almost second nature for executives — perhaps to the point of complacency.

All the while, TikTok reached new heights of popularity and public influence. It boasts over 170 million U.S. monthly users, which gives the company confidence to fight back any regulators that may be aimed at it. TikTok secretly negotiated with government officials, and launched advertising campaigns to save the company. Its biggest bet was to overturn the law in order to avoid a sale, but that gamble failed. But no social media company has been forced to completely remove their presence from the country. Only TikTok will have that distinction.

“The vast majority of people I’ve talked to have said TikTok will figure something out, without a very clear answer to what that something will be, because they always have,” said Joe Marchese, a venture capitalist and former TV network executive. People “can’t imagine it not working out.”

TikTok has already appealed directly to Donald J. Trump who has promised to save the app in some way. Mr. Chew posted a direct appeal to Mr. Trump on TikTok after the Supreme Court decision, thanking him “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.” TikTok declined to comment on Project Achilles.

Late Friday, the company said that unless the Biden administration made it clear to service providers that they could continue providing services to the app after the law took effect, “unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on Jan. 19.”

TikTok users are grieving, often couching their dismay in dark humor. Few seem to think that the app will be banned on Sunday. “Five years later, I’m still doing the same interview.”

It ‘Can Change Somebody’s Life’

Before it was TikTok, it was Musical.ly, a Chinese lip-syncing app popular with teenagers and tweens.

Musical.ly’s two founders had nearly run out of venture funding for an education app when they decided to pivot to D.I.Y. Music videos were released in 2014. The app let users film over 15-second clips of popular songs, often accompanied by a distinct brand of hand choreography.

As Musical.ly grew, ByteDance took notice. It paid $1 billion in 2017 for Musical.ly and merged its technology and users with an app ByteDance launched internationally just a few months before: TikTok. By 2018, TikTok was roaring into the rankings of the most downloaded apps in the United States.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, TikTok became a mainstay in Americans’ lives. Or, as the musician Curtis Roach put it in the video that would make him one of the pandemic’s earliest breakout stars, a time when many people were “bored in their houses.” Or, as the musician Curtis Roach put it in the video that would make him one of the pandemic’s earliest breakout stars, a time when many people were “bored in the house.”

“

I joined just to post my little funny videos, and TikTok turned into something that can change somebody’s life,” Mr. Roach said in a recent interview.

TikTok seemingly left no corner of culture untouched.

Emma Straub, an author and owner of the independent Books Are Magic bookstores, recalled seeing backlist titles like Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles” suddenly in high demand after BookTok made them popular again. TikTok’s viral recipes sent feta and cucumbers flying off shelves in the culinary world. TikTok, the most popular app in the United States, 2021, and 2022.

Almost instantly, teenagers became household name. Charli D’Amelio was the most followed person on TikTok by November 2020. By 2021, her family would have a reality show on Hulu. By 2021, her family would have a reality show on Hulu.

“It was a vehicle for my kids and us to follow their dreams,” said Marc D’Amelio, Ms. D’Amelio’s father.

Regulatory Reality

As TikTok’s popularity surged, so did scrutiny from the U.S. government. TikTok was able to evade nearly everything officials threw its way. TikTok had already been on edge following a ban in India. Then Mr. Trump raised concerns that ByteDance could hand over sensitive TikTok user data to the Chinese government.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” he said in July 2020.Mr. Trump later backed down, saying that he didn’t mind if Microsoft, or another “very American” company, bought TikTok. In August, Trump issued an executive order effectively banning app stores from hosting TikTok. It gave companies a 45-day deadline to comply.

TikTok sued to block the executive order. The company sought to assuage Trump’s concerns by having two American firms take a stake into a new U.S. company, TikTok Global. This company would go public in less than a year. But at the 11th hour, the deal appeared to be imperiled by the Chinese government and conflicts over ByteDance’s involvement.

Suddenly the ban seemed imminent — and yet TikTok emerged unscathed.

That fall, two federal courts agreed with TikTok that the executive order was unlawful and stopped the ban from going into effect. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump’s re-election bid was unsuccessful, complicating policymakers approach to addressing their concerns about TikTok. The contentious deal was then shelved. The Biden administration also had similar concerns about the app’s national security. Some states started taking action against it.

By the early 2023, over a dozen states blocked the app on government-owned networks and devices, joining the previous bans by both the Army and Air Force. Montana passed a bill in April to block the app completely within the state. This was to protect the data of its citizens from China. TikTok sued, saying the law was overreaching and violated the First Amendment.

Congress had also started discussing a ban in earnest — conversations that multiplied after lawmakers grilled Mr. Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, in a five-hour hearing in March 2023. TikTok also worked for years on a plan to demonstrate that it could operate independently of China. However, in March 2023, the Biden administration began to appear increasingly skeptical about it. A huge lobbying campaign that included flying TikTok stars to Washington helped fend off the proposal that Congress had been discussing.

The company’s legal case against the Montana law prevailed, too. That November, a federal court ruled that TikTok wouldn’t have to go dark in that state after all.

By December 2023, more than 150 million people were using TikTok in the United States.

‘Lower the Temperature’

With both the congressional effort and Montana’s ban behind them, some of TikTok’s top leaders seemed to believe the worst of the threats had passed.

Mr. Chew agreed for a rare interview in Vogue Singapore. Michael Beckerman was TikTok’s head of policy in the Americas and Zenia Mucha who oversees TikTok’s marketing and communication. They were among the executives who flew into Singapore, where Mr. Chew is based. They downplayed to company leaders the near-term risks of a ban, according to two people familiar with this trip. Ms. Mucha said that the company had to “lower temperatures” to keep TikTok from making the news. Four employees heard her say this phrase when dismissing attempts, such as Project Achilles, that were being made to prepare for a possible ban. It was officially introduced in March.

TikTok’s blindside was caused by this. It scrambled to respond, flying creators to Washington and sending pop-up messages to users, urging them to call their representatives to oppose the legislation.

But this time, its campaign failed. The company was still largely operating as usual despite the looming ban. The company told advertisers such as Victoria’s Secret and L’Oreal that it would not back down from its U.S. market over drinks on the French Riviera and in New York at the annual confab of the ad business in Cannes. It said it would sponsor the Washington Capitals hockey team in September.

TikTok executives have, at times, made light of the possible ban, suggesting in one staff meeting over the summer that it would one day be the subject of a Hollywood film.

In October, Mr. Beckerman held a gathering for his team in Lima, Peru, flying dozens of employees there, three people with knowledge of the outing said. Three people with knowledge of the trip said that Mr. Beckerman held a gathering for his team in Lima, Peru, flying dozens of employees there. (TikTok stated that a hurricane forced them to change their original destination from Miami. Now, TikTok pins its last hope on Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump, who has now 14.8 million followers in his TikTok profile, publicly changed his position on the app in March. He has promised to save it. However, his options are limited, even as President. He cannot overturn this law on his own and it’s not clear how to stop its enforcement. He could exercise a 90-day extension if he believes that TikTok is in the midst of sale talks that meet the requirements of the law. The company will spend thousands of dollars to sponsor an event that will take place on Sunday, when the law is set to go into effect. It will celebrate conservative influencers and their role in shaping the 2024 elections. On Monday, Mr. Chew will attend the inauguration, alongside former presidents, family members and other important guests.

TikTok’s stars do not seem to believe this is the final blow, either. Bethenny, the Bravo star, entrepreneur and Bravo star, said that she could not believe TikTok would be gone by Sunday. TikTok’s users will figure out a way forward, she said.

“They’re club kids, and they’re going to figure out where the after-party is,” Ms. Frankel said. “They won’t let the club close down.”

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