TikTok is on the brink of a U.S. ban as the January 19 deadline to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, approaches.
Under the law signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024, TikTok must sever ties with ByteDance or face a ban on app distribution through U.S. platforms such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
If implemented, the ban would prohibit new downloads of TikTok in the U.S., while existing users would retain access to the app without updates. Over time, this lack of updates could lead to technical issues, rendering the app increasingly unstable.
Jason Kelley, director of activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, predicts users may encounter connection errors within days of the ban’s enforcement. Meanwhile, reports suggest TikTok is preparing to shut down its U.S. service entirely, with plans to display a message explaining the ban and offering users the option to download their data.
TikTok’s legal team, led by Noel Francisco, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Francisco warned that without judicial action, the platform will “go dark” for U.S. users.
The ban is part of broader concerns over national security and data privacy due to TikTok’s ties to ByteDance. Critics argue the app could be used to collect sensitive user data for the Chinese government, a claim TikTok has repeatedly denied.
The Supreme Court’s decision will be pivotal in determining TikTok’s future in the U.S., as millions of users and content creators await clarity on the app’s status.
