TikTok will be shutting down its app in the U.S. on Sunday if the federal ban goes into effect.
President-elect Donald Trump, who will be starting his term a day after the ban is scheduled to start, is considering suspending the shutdown for up to 90 days with an executive order. However, it’s not clear how he would achieve this legally.
If the federal law comes to pass, TikTok users could get locked out of their favorite videos, whether they’re made by themselves or others.
While there are still potential ways for TikTok to operate in the U.S., the uncertainty of the its future has led many users to take action.
Mollie Lobe, an influencer and affiliate community manager at BrandCycle – a company that connects brands with creators- said it’s currently unclear whether users will still be able to upload videos or save content from creators if the ban comes into effect.
If TikTok’s parent company ByteDance does pull the plug in the U.S., it may leave a hole in many peoples’ lives as the average user spends an hour on the app every day.
According to social media senior analyst Minda Smiley, many creators are likely focusing their attention on downloading videos and other things they may want to access after the app shuts down. They are also telling followers where they will be able to find them if TikTok vanishes overnight.
While the ban only affects the U.S., shutting down the platform could also make it unavailable for those living in other countries as many service providers in the U.S. make the app available worldwide and would no longer be able to do so.
According to a court filing, TikTok said ‘an order will be needed to avoid interrupting the services for those living outside the U.S.’
In the meantime, sources have said shutting down the app does not require long-term planning and that the platform has been functioning as usual up until now. This suggests that TikTok will be able to restore service in the U.S. quickly if the federal ban gets reversed at a later date.
TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance is 60 percent owned by institutional investors such as General Atlantic and BlackRock, while its employees and founders own 20 percent each. In the United States, the company has over 7,000 employees.
Last April, President Joe Biden signed a law requiring the company to sell its U.S. assets by January 19, or face a federal ban. Despite calls from lawmakers and President-elect Trump to extend the deadline, the Supreme Court has maintained they will be upholding the law.
If the ban goes into effect, the social media app will be completely removed from the Google and Apple app stores. While new users will no longer be able to join the platform, those that already have the app on their phones will still be able to access it.
However, it will no longer be updated, meaning security issues and bugs won’t be fixed. This will likely render the app unusable with time.
