Lawmakers and social media users alike are making last-ditch attempts to halt the ban on TikTok, with 11th-hour legislation and petitions to the president.

Newsweek reached out to TikTok via its inquiry system and to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Action Network, Democrat Representative Ro Khanna of California and the Trump transition team via email on Thursday evening for comment.

Why It Matters

The looming TikTok ban remains in a strange limbo as the Supreme Court, which heard arguments about the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act last week, has yet to issue a ruling.

The bill received bipartisan support, passing with strong congressional majorities in both parties, and was successfully defended by the government up to the Supreme Court challenge.

The Biden administration signaled, however, that it is unlikely to enforce the ban immediately, since it takes effect the day before President Joe Biden leaves office. Instead, he will likely leave it to his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, to decide what to do about the ban, according to ABC News.

TikTok users in the meantime started a mass migration to the Chinese-owned Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote (although the literal translation is “Little Red Book”) as an act of protest against the U.S. government, effectively saying that if the concern is that TikTok is letting China harvest American citizen data, they’ll simply cut out the middleman.

TikTok Ban Washington D.C. Congress
Left to right, Sarah Baus of Charleston, S.C., holds a sign that reads “Keep TikTok” as she and other content creators Sallye Miley of Jackson, Mississippi, and Callie Goodwin of Columbia, S.C., stand outside the…
Left to right, Sarah Baus of Charleston, S.C., holds a sign that reads “Keep TikTok” as she and other content creators Sallye Miley of Jackson, Mississippi, and Callie Goodwin of Columbia, S.C., stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., on January 10 in Washington, D.C. Some lawmakers and social media users are making last-ditch attempts to prevent the ban.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

What To Know

A number of petitions have popped up over the past few days as some lawmakers have appeared to change their minds about the ban, citing concerns about small businesses and freedom of speech for the roughly 170 million users—arguments made before the bill passed and had largely been ignored by lawmakers in favor of concerns over national security.

Petitions Pop Up to Stop the Ban of TikTok

A few petitions in support of stopping the ban popped up, including one on Change.org that has amassed 357,278 verified signatures as of Thursday evening.

“We petition that the United States government work with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance to solve their concerns without taking away an app that provides so much enjoyment, education, and community for millions of Americans,” petition organizers wrote. “We must act now to let our politicians know that they cannot and should not control what we can see, hear, and share.”

The (ACLU) also has a petition urging those concerned about the ban to message their senators and demand they don’t ban TikTok because it violates the First Amendment right of American citizens.

Action Network, an “open platform that empowers individuals and groups to organize for progressive causes,” also has an outreach program that provides a template message to send to elected officials, although it uses more extreme language and claims a TikTok ban will “reinforce xenophobic tropes and silence millions of people.”

Khanna’s Legislation to Halt Ban of TikTok

Khanna, who has been among the consistent and vocal supporters of TikTok—and one of the 58 representatives who voted against the ban in the first place—started a petition this week while also backing legislation calling for a 270-day extension on the ban to allow parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok or for Trump to determine what he wants to do about it.

“Over 170 million Americans use TikTok to connect with others, run small businesses, gain knowledge and information, and so much more. Banning TikTok, especially without concrete evidence of foreign interference, threatens our constitutionally protected freedom of speech and impacts the livelihoods of content creators and small businesses who rely on this unique platform,” Khanna wrote in his petition, stressing that “banning TikTok isn’t the answer.”

The legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of California (all of whom are Democrats), was introduced on January 14, with arguments from Markey and Khanna on the floor of their respective houses to urge a vote on the matter.

But it appears that lawmakers are waiting to see what the Supreme Court ultimately decides before taking any additional action. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday that his party introduced a bill on Wednesday night to extend the deadline, but that Senate Republicans blocked the bill, calling it a “stunning” move.

“We will continue to work to find a responsible solution to keeping TikTok going, protect Americans’ livelihoods, and protect against CCP surveillance. We must and we can do all three,” Schumer said.

What People Are Saying

A White House spokesperson told Newsweek: “Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate but under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement.”

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California told Newsweek: “My petition opposing the TikTok ban has over 480,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. It shows how deeply concerned Americans are about their small businesses, livelihoods, and free speech being taken away. The pressure is working. We must stand up for the 170 million Americans on the app and stop the ban.”

What Happens Next?

Trump is said to be considering a range of options, including an executive order to circumvent the order or would consider a “viable” deal for the app, according to Reuters.

“We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Representative Mike Waltz of Florida, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, told Fox News on Thursday. He said the act that would enforce the ban allows a 90-day extension if there is “significant progress” toward a sale.

“Essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going,” Waltz added.

Update, 01/16/25 at 7:38 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Representative Ro Khanna.