mtg journey to the lost city ruling

• Sets & Legality |

Gatherer works better in the Companion app!

MTG > Cards > Journey to the Lost City

• Token synergy

Legality between formats

• Commander Legal
• Historic Not Legal
• Legacy Legal
• Modern Not Legal
• Pauper Not Legal
• Pioneer Not Legal
• Standard Not Legal
• Alchemy Not Legal
• Artisan Not Legal
• Block Legal
• Booster Draft Legal
• Brawl Not Legal
• Budget Standard Not Legal
• Casual Legal
• Conquest Legal
• Duel Commander Legal
• Explorer Not Legal
• Extended Legal
• Frontier Not Legal
• Historic Brawl Not Legal
• Oathbreaker Legal
• Old School Not Legal
• Pauper Commander Not Legal
• Pauper Historic Not Legal
• Pauper Penny Not Legal
• Pauper Singleton Not Legal
• Pauper Standard Not Legal
• Penny Dreadful Not Legal
• PreDH Not Legal
• Premodern Not Legal
• Sealed event Legal
• Timeless Not Legal
• Tiny Leaders Legal
• Vintage Legal
• Show more...

Table of contents

• Similar cards

Where to buy

About journey to the lost city.

Journey to the Lost City, Enchantment, designed by Alayna Danner first released in May, 2022 in the set Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and was printed exactly in 2 different ways. It see play in 1 formats: Commander . It's currently being selled by the minimum price of $ 0.14.

Top 8 decks with Journey to the Lost City

Average per deck

*This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated

Price alert ?

Alert me when price gets to

Price trend history

— comments 0.

Be the first to comment

Recently viewed cards:

Journey to the Lost City

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate — rare

Enchantment

At the beginning of your upkeep, exile the top four cards of your library, then roll a d20. 1—9 | You may put a land card from among those cards onto the battlefield. 10—19 | Create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token, then put a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card among those cards. 20 | Put all permanent cards exiled with Journey to the Lost City onto the battlefield, then sacrifice it.

TCGPlayer low price:

Cards similar to Journey to the Lost City:

Hibernation's End

Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) Whenever you pay Hibernation's End's cumulative upkeep, you may search your library for a creature card with mana value equal to the number of age counters on Hibernation's End, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Sporogenesis

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a fungus counter on target nontoken creature. Whenever a creature with a fungus counter on it dies, create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token for each fungus counter on that creature. When Sporogenesis leaves the battlefield, remove all fungus counters from all creatures.

Saproling Burst

Fading 7 (This enchantment enters the battlefield with seven fade counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter from it. If you can't, sacrifice it.) Remove a fade counter from Saproling Burst: Create a green Saproling creature token. It has "This creature's power and toughness are each equal to the number of fade counters on Saproling Burst." When Saproling Burst leaves the battlefield, destroy all tokens created with Saproling Burst. They can't be regenerated.

Crawling Infestation

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may mill two cards. (You may put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard.) Whenever one or more creature cards are put into your graveyard from anywhere during your turn, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. This ability triggers only once each turn.

Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge

Legendary Creature — God // Legendary Enchantment (1/4)

Vigilance : Add one mana of any color. Other legendary creatures you control have vigilance and " : Add one mana of any color." The Prismatic Bridge At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature or planeswalker card. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.

Fyndhorn Pollen

Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) All creatures get -1/-0. : All creatures get -1/-0 until end of turn.

Maddening Wind

Enchantment — Aura

Enchant creature Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) At the beginning of the upkeep of enchanted creature's controller, Maddening Wind deals 2 damage to that player.

Court of Bounty

When Court of Bounty enters the battlefield, you become the monarch. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you're the monarch, instead you may put a creature or land card from your hand onto the battlefield.

Defense of the Heart

At the beginning of your upkeep, if an opponent controls three or more creatures, sacrifice Defense of the Heart, search your library for up to two creature cards, put those cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Wolfcaller's Howl

At the beginning of your upkeep, create X 2/2 green Wolf creature tokens, where X is the number of your opponents with four or more cards in hand.

Call to the Kindred

Enchant creature At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top five cards of your library. If you do, you may put a creature card that shares a creature type with enchanted creature from among them onto the battlefield, then you put the rest of those cards on the bottom of your library in any order.

Game Preserve

At the beginning of your upkeep, each player reveals the top card of their library. If all cards revealed this way are creature cards, put those cards onto the battlefield under their owners' control.

Into the Wilds

At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. If it's a land card, you may put it onto the battlefield.

Invasion of Shandalar // Leyline Surge

Battle — Siege // Enchantment

(As a Siege enters, choose an opponent to protect it. You and others can attack it. When it's defeated, exile it, then cast it transformed.) When Invasion of Shandalar enters the battlefield, return up to three target permanent cards from your graveyard to your hand. Leyline Surge At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield.

Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) , Pay 3 life for each velocity counter on Tornado: Destroy target permanent and put a velocity counter on Tornado. Activate only once each turn.

Crawling Sensation

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may mill two cards. Whenever one or more land cards are put into your graveyard from anywhere for the first time each turn, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token.

The Weatherseed Treaty

Enchantment — Saga

Read ahead (Choose a chapter and start with that many lore counters. Add one after your draw step. Skipped chapters don't trigger. Sacrifice after III.) I — Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. II — Create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token. III — Domain — Target creature you control gets +X/+X and gains trample until end of turn, where X is the number of basic land types among lands you control.

Thought Lash

Cumulative upkeep—Exile the top card of your library. (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) When a player doesn't pay Thought Lash's cumulative upkeep, that player exiles all cards from their library. Exile the top card of your library: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to you this turn.

At the beginning of your upkeep, put a wind counter on Cyclone, then sacrifice Cyclone unless you pay for each wind counter on it. If you pay, Cyclone deals damage equal to the number of wind counters on it to each creature and each player.

Tombstone Stairwell

World Enchantment

Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.) At the beginning of each upkeep, if Tombstone Stairwell is on the battlefield, each player creates a 2/2 black Zombie creature token with haste named Tombspawn for each creature card in their graveyard. At the beginning of each end step or when Tombstone Stairwell leaves the battlefield, destroy all tokens created with Tombstone Stairwell. They can't be regenerated.

© 2024 MTG Assist • DiabolicTutor.com • LorcanaBorn.com • Terms of Use / Privacy Policy • Contact MTG Assist •

Magic: the Gathering is trademark and copyright Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. MTGAssist.com is not affiliated with these entities.

Your Community

Top sections, deck formats, cards & previews, delve further, community content, other resources.

• MTG:Nexus Cards Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Journey to the Lost City
• Copy Mini-URL
• " title="Post Link to Facebook"> Facebook Post
• Reddit Post
• Print Playtest Cards
• Search for All Printings

Journey to the Lost City

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (681/361)

At the beginning of your upkeep, exile the top four cards of your library, then roll a d20.

1—9 | You may put a land card from among those cards onto the battlefield.

10—19 | Create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token, then put a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card among those cards.

20 | Put all permanent cards exiled with Journey to the Lost City onto the battlefield, then sacrifice it.

Artisan Saloon: Doc's Our Huckleberry

Thunder junction: the good, the bad, the ugly, artisan brewery: i want you, artisan brewery: fbl-twhip, dual land directory.

Journey to the Lost City {3} {G}

• Artist: Alayna Danner
• Collector Number: 681
• Available only as nonfoil
• Rarity: rare
• Released: 2022-06-10
• Set: Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
• Stamp: oval
• legal Commander
• legal Duel Commander
• legal Legacy
• legal MTGO Commander
• legal Vintage
• Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate 637 681 (rare)

Card is in preconstructed decks:

• Exit from Exile (Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander Deck)

View gallery of all printings

Journey to the Lost City

Commander legends: battle for baldur's gate.

• Prezzo USD: $0.32 (foil: $5.93)
• Prezzo EUR: €0.23 (foil: €2.41)
• Sottotipo: -
• Rank Edhrec: 886
• Rarità: Comune
• Price USD: $0.17
• Price EUR: €0.16
• Type: Enchantment
• Edhrec Rank: 9923
• Rarity: Rare
• Other info: only Not Foil

Formats restrictions

Price trend.

Journey to the Lost City (Card)

Exit from Exile Review - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

Exit from Exile - Precon Primer

Journey to the Lost City

• Create New Wish List

Related Products

Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

Kessig Cagebreakers

3 g Journey to the Lost City all Printings and Prices

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

Journey to the Lost City

Show Card Oracle Text

Enchantment

At the beginning of your upkeep, exile the top four cards of your library, then roll a d20. 1—9 | You may put a land card from among those cards onto the battlefield. 10—19 | Create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token, then put a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card among those cards. 20 | Put all permanent cards exiled with Journey to the Lost City onto the battlefield, then sacrifice it.

No vendors are currently buying this card.

cc-card-invertable Easily sell your cards with CardConduit. Receive 10% off with the code GOLDFISH!

Show Purchase Prices +

Price History

• Tabletop Tabletop

Decks Using Journey to the Lost City Filter Recent Decks by Format Standard Modern Pioneer Historic Explorer Timeless Alchemy Pauper Legacy Vintage Penny Dreadful Commander 1v1 Commander Brawl

All printings, price alert, add to collection.

Add Journey to the Lost City clb to your collection.

Layout Footer

Never miss important MTG news again!

All emails include an unsubscribe link. You may opt-out at any time. See our privacy policy .

Toggle Dark Mode Toggle Dark Mode

Price preference.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Do Not Sell My Personal Information
• Submit Tournament Results

All original content on this page is © 2012-2024 MTGGoldfish, Inc. and may not be used or reproduced without consent. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. © 1995-2024 Wizards. All rights reserved. MTGGoldfish, Inc. is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast LLC. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network, TCGplayer.com, CardKingdom.com, CardConduit.com, Cardhoarder.com.

Sign in Using an Existing Account

Sign in Using an MTGGoldfish Email Account

Forgot your password? Reset it here .

Don't have an account? Sign Up for free!

Important Updates

At MTGGoldfish, we value your privacy. As such, we're letting you know that we've updated our Privacy Policy to reflect the new rule set forth by the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We've updated our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Please take a moment to review them and accept to continue.

I Agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Exercising your rights.

If you are a resident of California, you have the right under the CCPA to opt out of the sale of personal information to third parties. Use the options below to exercise this right, and please review our privacy policy for complete information on how your data is used and stored.

• Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok

U.s. lawmakers have long worried that the chinese government could use the app to spread propaganda..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. And this is “The Daily.”

[THEME MUSIC]

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban the video app TikTok over concerns that its ties to China pose a national security risk. Last week, they passed a law that might finally do it. Today, my colleague, Sapna Maheshwari, on the secret effort behind the law and what a ban would mean for the company’s 170 million American users.

It’s Tuesday, April 30.

So Sapna, tell me about this law that just passed that potentially bans the social media app TikTok. We’ve seen efforts in the past to rein in TikTok, but this one really seems like the most substantial yet.

It’s a huge deal. What this law really does is it puts the future of this hugely popular app with 170 million American users into question. TikTok has reshaped the way many people listen to music. It’s changed the way we cook. It’s made a whole different kind of celebrity.

But it’s never been able to shake these concerns around the fact that it has really close ties to China. It’s owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. And lawmakers, for years, have been worried that the Chinese government could somehow use ByteDance and TikTok to get information on Americans or possibly spread propaganda.

President Trump tried to ban it in 2020. The State of Montana tried to ban this app last year. TikTok has largely survived those challenges, but this time it could actually be banned in the United States.

So let’s talk about this. Why did this effort succeed where the other ones failed?

So it’s an interesting story.

Here we go.

The committee will come to order.

And it really dates back to this hearing about a year ago that Congress had with Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok.

Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security.

Members of the committee, thank you for your time.

— TikTok has repeatedly said that it has addressed these national security concerns and that there’s no issue here. And you can hear that when Shou Chew testified.

Let me start by addressing a few misconceptions about ByteDance of which we are a subsidiary. ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

He’s saying American investors are behind ByteDance.

Now, TikTok itself is not available in mainland China. We’re headquartered in Los Angeles and in Singapore.

And I myself am Singaporean. I live in Singapore.

The bottom line is this — American data, stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel.

And we are actually going above and beyond what American technology companies do to keep things safe.

And I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much.

And is Congress convinced by that?

Congress is not convinced by that.

ByteDance is a Chinese company?

Well, ByteDance owns many businesses that operates in China.

Is it or is it not a Chinese company?

Congressman, the way we look at it, it was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

No, no, no, no. I’m not asking how you look at it. Fact, is it a Chinese company or not? For example, Dell is a company —

It was this really fiery, five-hour hearing, where Republicans and Democrats asked really contentious questions.

We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government. Will you repeat —

The question is, are you percent certain that they cannot use your company to promote such messages?

It is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep this free from any manipulation by any government.

OK. If you can’t say it 100 percent certain I take that as a no.

There’s this underlying sense of distrust around the company and its ties to China.

I will remind you that making false or misleading statements to Congress is a federal crime.

I understand. Again, you can go on our platform. You will find that content.

And it becomes clear through the hearing that, across the board, Republicans and Democrats largely feel the same way.

Mr. Chew, I got to hand it to you. You’ve actually done something that in the last three to four years has not happened except for the exception of maybe Vladimir Putin. You have unified Republicans and Democrats.

So within weeks of this hearing, this small group of lawmakers gets together. And they say, let’s come up with a law that works where all the other ones have failed and actually make TikTok answer to its Chinese connections once and for all.

So tell me about this small group of lawmakers. Who are they?

So it starts with Republicans. Among them is Steve Scalise, one of the most powerful Republicans in the House. And a small group sort of works together for a few months, but they realize that in order to really make this law work, they’re going to need Democrats. So they end up working through this House Committee that’s focused on China and competition. And this is where the bulk of the work on this bill takes place.

And just to note, this is a really small group. There’s less than 20 key players who are working on this. And all throughout, they are keeping this very, very secret.

And why exactly are they keeping it secret? What’s the point of that?

So this group really wanted to keep this out of the eyes of TikTok, which has a huge lobbying presence in DC, and has successfully worked to kill bills that targeted TikTok in the past. And what they’re really doing is looking at all of the past efforts to either force a sale or a ban of TikTok, and trying to work their way through why those plans didn’t succeed and what they can do differently.

But while the lawmakers are working on this bill, something big happens that kind of changes the politics around it. And that’s October 7.

Your social media feeds are unique to you, but could they be shaping how you view the Israel-Gaza War? The BBC’s —

As the war breaks out and people start getting information about it, a lot of people are getting information about the Israel-Hamas War on TikTok, especially young people.

Social media algorithms seem to be driving some users towards increasingly divisive posts —

And there’s this big messy argument spilling out into living rooms and all over the internet, and, of course on TikTok. And it’s getting very heated. For instance, there’s this moment in the fall where a bunch of TikTok users start sharing this old manifesto.

I read Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America.”

It’s wild, and everyone should read it.

Go read “A Letter to America.” Seriously, go read it.

That was actually written by Osama bin Laden, defending the 9/11 attacks and criticizing the United States’ support of Israel. TikTok users start trying to tie it to the modern day conflict.

Reading this letter, it becomes apparent to me that the actions of 9/11 were all just the buildup of our government failing other nations.

The way this letter is going viral right now is giving me the greatest sense of relief. Now it’s all coming to light because of Palestine.

And there’s these accusations that TikTok may be promoting one side of the conflict over the other. And a couple of researchers look at hashtags around Palestine, and they say that the data they pulled shows that TikTok is showing way more pro-Palestine videos and not so much for Israel. And this sets off huge alarm bells for this small group of lawmakers.

But isn’t that just a function of the fact that TikTok, at this point, is the public square in the United States for young people? I mean, this is what young people were talking about, and this is where they’re doing the talking.

TikTok has pushed back really forcefully against these accusations. They said that Gallup polls show that young people view Israel differently than older generations. They say that they’re not the ones influencing what people post, that the hashtags and the videos are a reflection of the user base and nothing that they’re doing to influence.

But for lawmakers, this doesn’t really make their concerns go away. Instead, this conflict shows them how TikTok could be used to spread propaganda. It made lawmakers feel that TikTok could be really dangerous when it comes to shaping the views of Americans on foreign policy, on US elections. And what it also does is, it provides this driving force to this group that’s drafting this bill. And they suddenly see that this might be a way to bring more people into their effort.

And so heading into November against this backdrop, they even bring in the White House and the Justice Department to help work on this bill. And with the White House, they want to make sure that this is a bill that the president will support. And they work with the Justice Department to shore up the language in the bill to help defend against court challenges.

Because the Justice Department, of course, would be the one that would have to defend the bill, right?

That’s exactly right. And so they’re trying to make it as rock solid as possible so that they can win in court when TikTok challenges this law. And so March rolls around, and they decide that it’s time to unveil this bill that they’ve been working on for close to a year.

The battle over TikTok on Capitol Hill is intensifying.

This morning, House lawmakers have agreed unanimously to move a bill to a full floor vote.

And TikTok is caught completely flat footed. They didn’t see this coming. And this is just what the group wanted. So TikTok has this army of lobbyists that’s suddenly scrambling. And they go into damage control mode. They start reaching out to members of Congress.

This app is so much more than just an app for dumb TikTok dances.

They fly a group of TikTok stars and small businesses to come to DC —

This is a life-changing apps.

— and lobby on the steps of the Capitol and meet with lawmakers.

Standing up here with all these amazing TikTokers behind me is a complete honor, and every single one of them would voice their opinion just like this. This is how we feel. This has to stop.

They set up interviews between these TikTok creators, as they’re known, and big TV shows and news programs. And they’re doing everything they can to fight against this bill before it goes any further. And then they decide to do something unusual, which is use TikTok itself to try and derail this bill.

How exactly do they do that?

So days after this bill is announced, a ton of TikTok users get a message when they open the TikTok app that basically says, call Congress and tell them not to ban TikTok.

Hmm. OK. So like, literally this window comes up and says, call Congress. Here you go.

Exactly. You can enter your zip code, and there’s a button that appears. And you can press it, and the call goes straight to your representative.

So offices are quickly overwhelmed by calls. And TikTok sent out this message to users on the same day that a House committee is going into vote on this bill and whether to move it forward. And so the stunt happens. They go into vote, and they come out, and it’s 50 to 0 in support of the bill.

One of the representatives who worked on the bill said that this stunt by TikTok turned a lot of no’s into yeses and yeses into, quote, “hell yeses.”

[LAUGHS]: so the whole episode sounds like it actually backfired, right? Like, TikTok’s stunt essentially just confirmed what was the deepest fears of lawmakers about this company, that the app could be used to influence American politics.

That’s definitely how a lot of lawmakers viewed it. And when this bill is brought to the full House a week later, it passes by an overwhelming majority. And weeks later, it passes in the Senate as part of a broader aid package. And on Wednesday, it’s signed into law by President Biden.

But now the question is, what does it mean? Like, how will this actually work? And how will it affect the tens of millions of Americans who use TikTok every day?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

So Sapna, now that Biden has signed this bill, what does it actually mean in practice for TikTok? What does the law do?

So the law is really trying to push ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to sell to a non-Chinese owner. And the company basically has nine months for this sale to happen. There’s an option for President Biden to add another three months to that clock. And if the company doesn’t find a buyer or refuses to be sold, it will be banned.

And what would a ban actually mean, Sapna? I mean, people would still have the app on their phones, right? So it wouldn’t disappear overnight.

Yeah, no one’s coming to pick up your phone and to forcibly delete this thing. What the law says is that app stores and web hosting services wouldn’t be allowed to carry TikTok anymore. So basically, it would kind of die a slow death over time, where it wouldn’t be updated and just kind of peter out.

So the bottom line here is that the clock has started on this potential sale, right? They have 12 months to find a buyer. So what are the obstacles here? I mean, it sounds pretty ferociously complicated.

There’s a ton of challenges here. And it’s a very messy choose-your-own adventure. So one of the first big questions is who could buy this?

ByteDance and TikTok are private. We don’t know their financials. But analysts estimate that it will cost tens of billions of dollars. That narrows the buying pool pretty quickly. And a lot of the companies that could afford to buy it, like Meta, the owner of Facebook, or Google, which owns YouTube, would probably be kicked out of the running because they are simply too big. Regulators would say, you already own these big apps. You can’t possibly add this to your stable.

There’d be a monopoly concern there.

Exactly. And then, there’s a lot of questions around how this would work, technically. ByteDance and TikTok are very much global organizations. You have the CEO in Singapore. They have huge operations in Ireland. They have this big workforce in the US. And of course, they do have engineers in China.

So how do you extract all those things, make it all work? It’s a very big international transaction.

And then there is the chance that the Chinese government blocks this sale and says, you cannot do this, ByteDance. We will not allow it.

So Sapna, how does that actually work, though, in terms of China? I mean, can China actually just ban the sale of this company? I mean, it is a private company after all, right?

Well, here’s one way it could work. The Chinese government could block the export of TikTok’s algorithm. And let me explain that in kind of plain English.

They could basically block the technology that fuels the TikTokiness of this app, the recommendations, the magic of it, why you see what you see when you’re looking at TikTok.

TikTokiness, is that an adjective?

That is now an adjective.

[LAUGHS]: Nice.

And there’s a chance that Beijing could say, hey, you can’t export this technology. That is proprietary. And if that happens, that suddenly makes TikTok way, way less valuable.

So the Chinese government could let the sale go through potentially, but as a kind of an empty shell, right? The thing that makes TikTok TikTok, the algorithm, wouldn’t be part of the company. So that probably isn’t very appealing for a potential buyer.

Exactly. And I mean, the role of the Chinese government here is really interesting. I’ve talked to experts who say, well, if the Chinese government interferes to try and block a sale of this app, doesn’t that underscore and prove all the concerns that have been expressed by American lawmakers?

If you’re worried about China being in control of this thing, well, that just confirmed your fears.

Exactly. And I mean, it’s an interesting thing that ByteDance and TikTok have to grapple with.

So bottom line here — selling TikTok is quite complicated, and perhaps not even possible for these reasons that you’re giving, right? I mean, not least of which because the Chinese government might not allow the algorithm to leave the country. And that’s not something that the US Congress has a lot of control over.

So is this law fundamentally just a ban, then?

That’s what TikTok is calling it. Right after this bill was signed into law on Wednesday —

Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.

— Tiktok’s CEO made a TikTok — what else?— that explained the company’s position.

Because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.

He actually argued that TikTok reflects American values.

TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard. And that’s why so many people have made TikTok part of their daily lives.

And he said that this law infringes on the First Amendment free speech rights of Americans who love it and who use it every day.

The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.

So it’s very clear that TikTok plans to challenge this law in court. And the court fight to follow will determine the fate of TikTok’s future in the US.

So is that First Amendment argument that the TikTok CEO is making here going to work?

Nobody wants to put money on that. I mean, the company is really approaching this with the idea that the First Amendment rights of Americans are being infringed on. But if you remember, the government has been working on this law. They’ve been anticipating those challenges. And they can justify an infringing of First Amendment rights in certain cases, including with national security concerns. And so it’ll be up to a judge on whether those concerns pass muster and justify this sale and even a potential ban of TikTok.

Got it. So TikTok will argue free speech, First Amendment. And the government will counter by saying, look, this is about China. This is about America’s national security interests.

That’s right. And the legal experts that I’ve spoken with say this is a really big and sticky area of the law, and it’s a huge case. And they really think that this will go to the Supreme Court, regardless of who wins in the first round of this.

So where does that leave the millions of Americans who use TikTok, and many of them, of course, who earn a living on the platform?

I mean, it’s really uncertain what happens now with the company, and the clock has started ticking. When I’ve looked at TikTok and looked at videos from users —

This is about the impending TikTok ban. And it just triggered me so much. It makes my blood boil, and I have to get this out there.

There’s a lot of shock —

The most success I’ve had has been here on TikTok, and now they’re trying to take it away.

This is so stupid!

— and anger.

You can’t ban apps! You can’t ban things from people!

People are confused.

Word on the street is that in the next 9 to 12 months, TikTok could be banned.

And they’re also caught a bit off guard, just because there have been these years of efforts to do something about TikTok. People on the app have been hearing about a TikTok ban, really, since 2020.

The government can take away a literal app on our phones, and we’re supposed to believe we’re free?

A few TikTokers have said, how can this be the thing that the government is pushing through so quickly?

Can we stop funding a genocide? No. Can we get free COVID tests? No. Can we stop killing the planet? No. Can we at least watch videos on an app of people doing fun things and learn about the world around us? No.

So there’s this sense of distrust and disappointment for many people who love this app.

We got rid of TikTok. You’re welcome. Protecting you from China. You know that phone was made in China. Ah!

And I think there’s also this question, too, around what about TikTok makes it so harmful? Even though it has increasingly become a place for news, there’s plenty of people who simply use this app for entertainment. And what they’re seeing out of Washington just doesn’t square with the reality they experience when they pull out their phones.

And I wonder, Sapna, I mean, just kind of stepping back for a second, let’s say this ban on TikTok succeeds. If it goes through, would Americans be better off?

It depends who you ask. For the users who love TikTok, if it actually disappeared, it would be the government taking away a place where maybe they make money, where they get their entertainment, where they figure out what to read or what to cook next. To free speech advocates, this would be dystopian, unheard of for the government to crack down on an app with such wide usage by Americans.

But for the American political class And the National security establishment, this is a necessary move, one that was years in the making, not something that was just come up with on the fly. And ultimately, it all comes down to China and this idea that you can’t have a social media app like this, a source of news like this, that is even at all at risk of being influenced by the Chinese government and our greatest adversaries.

Sapna, thank you.

Here’s what else you should know today. On Monday, in its latest high-profile showdown with pro-Palestinian protesters, Columbia University gave students until 2:00 PM to clear out from an encampment at the center of campus or face suspension. It appeared to be an effort to remove the encampment without relying on New York City Police, whose removal of a previous encampment there two weeks ago inspired similar protests on campuses across the country.

Free Palestine!

Hi, this is Sharon Otterman reporting for “The New York Times.”

00 PM deadline for protesters to clear out of the encampment at the center of Columbia University has come and gone, and there’s still quite a large contingent inside the encampment.

But Monday’s warning seemed only to galvanize the Columbia protesters and their supporters.

And hundreds of students and others from around the campus have come out to support them. They are currently walking around in a picket around the encampment.

Hundreds of students, standing for or five people deep, encircled the encampment in a show of solidarity. They were joined by members of the Columbia faculty.

There’s also dozens of faculty members, who are prepared to stand in lines in front of the main entrance to the encampment, in case Public Safety or the NYPD move in. But as of 2:00, there was no sign of that happening.

Then, on Monday evening, Columbia announced it had begun to suspend students who had failed to leave the encampment. It was unclear exactly how many students had been suspended.

[PRO-PALESTINE CHANTING]:

Today’s episode was produced by Will Reid, Rachelle Banja, and Rob Szypko. It was edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sharon Otterman.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring
• April 26, 2024   •   21:50 Harvey Weinstein Conviction Thrown Out
• April 25, 2024   •   40:33 The Crackdown on Student Protesters
• April 24, 2024   •   32:18 Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?
• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?
• April 22, 2024   •   24:30 The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Sapna Maheshwari

Produced by Will Reid ,  Rachelle Bonja and Rob Szypko

Edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban TikTok, concerned that the video app’s links to China pose a national security risk.

Sapna Maheshwari, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the behind-the-scenes push to rein in TikTok and discusses what a ban could mean for the app’s 170 million users in the United States.

On today’s episode

Sapna Maheshwari , who covers TikTok, technology and emerging media companies for The New York Times.

Background reading

A tiny group of lawmakers huddled in private about a year ago, aiming to bulletproof a bill that could ban TikTok.

The TikTok law faces court challenges, a shortage of qualified buyers and Beijing’s hostility .

Love, hate or fear it, TikTok has changed America .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Special thanks to Sharon Otterman .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected] . More about Sapna Maheshwari

Advertisement