The free world is being tested, and bigger battles lie ahead.

Back in April, Congress passed a bill that would force TikTok and other social media apps that are “controlled by a foreign adversary” to sell themselves to buyers in the U.S. or friendly nations. If the apps don’t sell, they can no longer be legally downloaded from app stores. This so-called “TikTok ban” — which isn’t really a ban, just a rule about corporate ownership — was set to go into effect one day before the next presidential inauguration.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, had many months to sell TikTok, and would have doubtless find a willing buyer. Instead it refused. In fact, now TikTok is apparently planning to shut itself down completely, going far beyond the penalty that the U.S. law itself stipulates:

So that’s where things stand. I think the outcome of the TikTok fight is important for several reasons. First, it’s part of China’s attempts to put increasing pressure on America, potentially in advance of a major conflict. And more broadly, it’s an important bellwether of whether liberal societies — defined as those who place paramount importance on individual freedom and dignity — have what it takes to survive and thrive in the 21st century, or whether the next epoch in human history will belong to the authoritarians.