If nobody intervenes before Jan. 19, TikTok will become impossible to access via an American internet connection. It probably will remain possible to

The Surprise Winner of the TikTok Ban

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2025-01-12 20:30:06

If nobody intervenes before Jan. 19, TikTok will become impossible to access via an American internet connection. It probably will remain possible to access from an American location, though.

The rub is a virtual private network, which sets up an encrypted tunnel for internet browsing and can run it through practically any country. VPNs have many millions of users across the world who rely on them for things ranging from basic privacy to watching out-of-market sports games to dodging censorship in repressive states. For that reason, VPNs are a huge business. The global market for them was more than $50 billion in 2023, according to one market research firm. Soon it will be worth much more.

Press coverage of the potential winners of TikTok’s American demise has tended to focus on Meta and Google. That’s with fair reason: Instagram and YouTube would jockey for TikTok users (and creators) whose app was shut off. But the biggest beneficiaries might be the internet privacy and security firms that offer VPNs. After all, you could either find a new platform or, for a few dollars per month, maintain access to the one you already love. VPNs are likely to see an enormous influx of new sign-ups.

VPN companies will accept this windfall. But I think some of the industry’s leaders, who tend to be dyed-in-the-wool believers in an open internet, will be regretful about the circumstances that led to it.