The Clock Is Ticking on TikTok

Even before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the first shot in the next battle of the trade war between the United States and China may have already been fired. That’s because, on Jan.  19, the Chinese-owned social media platform must either be sold to an American company or be banned from the United States.

If the latter happens, an estimated 150 million to 170 million active users in the United States will lose access to the popular site, which has more than 1 billion active users worldwide. Companies such as Apple and Google, as well as internet hosting providers, would be forced to stop supporting TikTok, which would end users’ access to the app in the United States.