• TikTok is preparing to go dark in the US on Sunday if it is indeed banned.
• This would see TikTok becoming inaccessible for all TikTok users in the US, giving users the ability to only download their personal data.
• The US Supreme Court is now only expected to decide on the matter on Sunday, the day the ban comes into effect.

Come Sunday, ByteDance will either have had to sell TikTok to a US entity or face a ban, and considering there is nought but rumours surrounding a potential sale – mostly dismissed by ByteDance – the ban is looking more likely.

On 19th January, the law that would ban the platform that was signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024 will come into effect. This law would prevent the distribution of the TikTok app through US app stores. This means that while users who already have TikTok may still be able to continue using it, the app would never be updated.

But TikTok may take a scorched Earth approach to the matter and simply shut down. As reported by Reuters, citing an anonymous source, come Sunday if the ban is allowed to happen, US users would open the app only to find a pop-up message directing them to a webpage detailing the US ban. Users would be able to download their data, but using TikTok in the US would seemingly be impossible without a VPN.

While TikTok appears to be throwing caution to the wind, it’s really a matter of self preservation at this point. While the ban pertains to the US territory, TikTok’s app is distributed via the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store which are based in the US.

Banning TikTok from being distributed through these storefronts would potentially make it more difficult for users in other parts of the world to download and update the application. This could force Android users to download APKs and sideload the app which increases the risk of something bad happening to that user. Apple users would likely have to use a web browser to access TikTok.

TikTok also said last month that it leverages the services of hundreds of service providers in the US to help make TikTok available around the world. Should the ban be put in place, this could affect its global service.

The US is looking to ban TikTok on allegations that it presents a threat to US citizens. The thinking here is that because ByteDance is a Chinese company it will share data on US TikTokers with the Chinese government if requested. There is no evidence of this ever happening and TikTok has denied that it will comply with Chinese government demands.

However, this has fallen on deaf ears and instead, US lawmakers have decided that the app is worth banning based purely on its ties to China.

This week, however, US users decided to pour gasoline on the fire by mass downloading Xiaohongshu or RedNote. This is a Pinterest/Instagram style of platform in China and unlike TikTok, is intended for use by Chinese people exclusively.

The thinking here is that if US politicians truly are concerned about the data of their citizens falling into China’s palms, RedNote would be banned as well. Some have taken the fact that it isn’t banned as a tacit acknowledgement that the real reason it is being banned is because lobbyists are concerned its growing faster than US platforms, and we can’t have that.

The US Supreme Court is meant to issue a decision regarding whether it will delay a ban of TikTok this week but reports now suggest that decision will only come on Sunday 19th January, the same day the ban is meant to be put into place. As such, many TikTokers are working under the assumption that from Sunday, their favourite platform will be gone.

As for a sale of TikTok, given how long the process of selling and moving an entity as big as it is, we doubt that an 11th hour sale will be enough to keep TikTok online.

The last saving grace for the platform could be Donald Trump who, having initially supported a ban, did an about face at the end of last year and said that he’d save the application. We’ll have to see if Trump becomes the unexpected hero of TikTok after he’s inaugurated on Monday.