TikTok ban: How and when app will reportedly shut down for U.S. users

If the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene before Sunday, TikTok as we know it in the U.S. will be shut down. 

TikTok is a cultural phenomenon with more than 170 million users in the U.S., and if it does get banned, it’s not clear where TikTok’s masses will go for the type of entertaining videos that popularized the short-form video app. 

When is TikTok shutting down in U.S.? 

FILE - TikTok logo (Photo by Osmancan Gurdogan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

What's next:

According to The Information, TikTok reportedly is planning to shut off its app for U.S. users on Sunday, the day the federal law takes effect, unless the Supreme Court stops it. The move is strategic, the report says, to "bring home the impact of the ban to all TikTok’s users."

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Dig deeper:

 A source told The Information that when users try to open TikTok, they’ll get a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. TikTok will reportedly allow users to download all their data.

What is the TikTok ban law? 

The law, which passed with bipartisan support, mandates that ByteDance sell TikTok’s U.S. operations by Jan. 19 or face a ban. 

What we know:

If the sale is not completed by that date and the Supreme Court doesn't stop it, TikTok will be blocked from U.S. app stores, and existing users will lose access to updates and support. 

What we don't know:

The court’s actions suggest it is likely to move forward with the deadline, but we don’t know for sure until the ruling is made public. The court could surprise observers and side with TikTok’s parent company. 

Alternatives to TikTok

If TikTok is shut down, some experts think established social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, could see the biggest influx of users. 

The other side:

Others, meanwhile, believe users are looking for something different and could turn to other apps.

Lemon8 is a photo-based app that is a combination of Instagram and Pinterest and is sprinkled with videos resembling ones posted on TikTok. It launched in the U.S. in 2023, a few years after it debuted in Asian markets. 

RELATED: Rednote, Lemon8: What to know about the possible alternatives to TikTok

The social media app collects user data, such as IP address, browsing history, device identifiers and other information. Like TikTok, Lemon8’s main feed has a "following" section that allows users to look at content from creators they follow, and a "For You" section that recommends other posts.

RedNote launched in 2013 and has become one of China’s fastest-growing social platforms, with a value of over $17 billion, the USA Today reported, citing the Financial Times. 

The social media platform is known as Xiaohongshu, which means "little red book," has a layout similar to Pinterest and is described as a Chinese version of Instagram. According to TechCrunch, the app’s focus on short-term content, similar to TikTok, has helped it become a legitimate alternative.

Who could buy TikTok? 

The backstory:

Project Liberty, led by billionaire Frank McCourt, has emerged as a potential buyer for TikTok’s U.S. assets. The group has secured verbal commitments of up to $20 billion to fund the purchase, although any deal would exclude TikTok’s algorithm, which China regards as intellectual property.

The push to sell TikTok has been ongoing since 2020, when former President Donald Trump initially sought to force the sale. However, those efforts stalled, and it’s now up to the Supreme Court to decide TikTok’s future in the U.S.