Tick-Tock: The Clock is ticking on TikTok Ban
As of January 13, 2025, the U.S. government enacted a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest from TikTok by January 19, 2025, due to national security concerns. If ByteDance does not comply, TikTok will face a ban in the United States.
If the ban proceeds on January 19, 2025, TikTok will be removed from U.S. app stores, preventing new downloads and updates. Existing users may experience degraded functionality over time as the app becomes obsolete without updates.
What does this mean for evidence collection?
For companies like SMI Aware, which specialize in collecting and preserving content from platforms like TikTok for legal investigations, a TikTok ban could introduce several challenges and roadblocks. Here's a breakdown of what it could mean:
Restricted access to TikTok even with automated tools and manual investigations.
Degraded application functionality could make capturing information difficult, especially for real-time monitoring
Legal changes to compliance when it comes to viewing and collecting information from TikTok.
Potential loss of historical data and content.
What can be done to proactively prepare for a TikTok ban?
Like any data set that is not yet in your custody or control, SMI Aware is recommending legal teams proactively preserve existing TikTok content before it becomes inaccessible. Collecting online content proactively early in the case is akin to issuing litigation holds within your organization. It's simply due diligence. Our team of expert analysts are prepared to assist with this type of research and information preservation.
As phases of the ban are enacted, we anticipate users will migrate to other platforms (e.g. Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts), which may result in increased usage and content on current or emerging platforms. SMI Aware is working to support research and collection efforts on emerging platforms with growing user bases.
To learn more about collecting TikTok information with SMI Aware before January 19, contact us at [email protected]m or call 888-299-9921.
