TikTok

Is TikTok being banned? What to expect Sunday after Supreme Court's decision

With uncertainty still surrounding the app and what will happen this weekend, here's what to know

0:00
0:00 / 2:58
NBC Universal, Inc.

The law in question requires China-based TikTok owner ByteDance to divest itself of the company, arguing U.S. national security concerns.

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday, but what exactly will that mean for app users as the deadline arrives this weekend?

The decision came against the backdrop of unusual political agitation by President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed that he could negotiate a solution, and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has signaled it won't enforce the law beginning Sunday, his final full day in office.

With uncertainty still surrounding the app and what will happen this weekend, here's what to know:

When will TikTok be banned?

TikTok, which has been a cultural phenomenon, could be banned on Jan. 19 under a law that forces the platform to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or shut down its U.S. operation.

What will happen on Sunday?

Much uncertainty still remains.

TikTok could still be sold by its China-based parent company, but a sale does not appear imminent.

Although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users' phones once the law takes effect on Jan. 19, new users won't be able to download it and updates won't be available. That will eventually render the app unworkable, the Justice Department has said in court filings.

As for Trump, it’s unclear what options are open once he is sworn in as president on Monday.

The law allowed for a 90-day pause in the restrictions on the app if there had been progress toward a sale before it took effect. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the law at the Supreme Court for the Democratic Biden administration, told the justices last week that it's uncertain whether the prospect of a sale once the law is in effect could trigger a 90-day respite for TikTok.

Schumer: Oval Office should find American buyer for TikTok
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, says the incoming Trump administration should work with the Biden administration to find an American buyer for TikTok.

At arguments, the justices were told by a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese technology company that is its parent, how difficult it would be to consummate a deal, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful.

Without a sale to an approved buyer, the law bars app stores operated by Apple, Google and others from offering TikTok beginning on Sunday. Internet hosting services also will be prohibited from hosting TikTok.

ByteDance has said it won’t sell. But some investors have been eyeing it, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt. McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative has said it and its unnamed partners have presented a proposal to ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets. The consortium, which includes “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary, did not disclose the financial terms of the offer.

Why is TikTok being banned?

The dispute over TikTok's ties to China has come to embody the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing.

The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.

TikTok points out the U.S. has not presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its U.S. platform or gather American user data through TikTok.

Bipartisan majorities in Congress passed legislation, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in April. The law was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over TikTok, which the government sees as a national security threat.

TikTok, which sued the government last year over the law, has long denied it could be used as a tool of Beijing. A three-judge panel made up of two Republican appointees and a Democratic appointee unanimously upheld the law in December, prompting TikTok’s quick appeal to the Supreme Court.

What apps could replace TikTok?

TikTok has more than 170 million users in the U.S., and if it does get banned, it’s not clear which competitors will benefit the most. Some experts think established social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, could see the biggest influx of users. But some users are looking for something different and could turn to other apps.

Xiaohongshu, or “RedNote”

Recently, some U.S. TikTok users have flocked to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu in protest of the looming ban. Like TikTok, Xiaohongshu, which in English means “Little Red Book,” combines e-commerce and short-form videos.

The app has gained traction in China and other regions with a Chinese diaspora — such as Malaysia and Taiwan — racking up 300 million monthly active users, a majority of whom are young women who use it as a de-facto search engine for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

On Tuesday, the Xiaohongshu, called “RedNote” by American users and on some app stores, was the top downloaded free app in Apple’s U.S. app store.

Lemon8

Lemon8, also owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is a lesser-known lifestyle app that allows users to post pictures and short-form videos. Though the platform lets users post TikTok-like videos, it leans more into pictures and has been described as a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest.

In the past few weeks, many creators have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also recommended it through paid sponsored posts tagged #lemon8partner, indicating a recent corporate push to generate more users.

But the law that targets TikTok also states the divest-or-ban requirement for ByteDance applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by the two companies or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 is not explicitly named in the statute, its future in the U.S. is also in jeopardy.

Meta's Instagram

Instagram launched Reels in 2020, a TikTok-like feed of short videos users can create or scroll through. The feature has proven to be massively popular and some experts say creators are likely to set up shop there if a TikTok ban does happen. As of 2022, Instagram had 2 billion active monthly users. Meta no longer discloses user numbers for its individual platforms.

But could it replace TikTok? That depends. While many creators currently post on both platforms, some experts say the youngest users are unlikely to migrate to a service made popular by their millennial parents. And while Meta’s algorithm is addictive, it’s still not TikTok.

In the past, some TikTok users have also blamed the surge of scrutiny on the platform on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pointing to a Washington Post report from 2022 that said the tech behemoth paid a Republican consulting firm to undermine TikTok through a nationwide media and lobbying campaign.

YouTube

Though TikTok dominates headlines as a driver of internet trends, Pew Research Center says YouTube is actually the most widely-used platform among teens and adults.

YouTube users can scroll through Shorts just as they can on TikTok or Reels on Instagram and Facebook, allowing them to watch hours of bite-sized videos. Many of the videos featured on YouTube are from TikTok or creators who post to several platforms. That said, YouTube is still known for its longer-format videos so it may not have the variety of content that TikTok users are looking for — at least not yet.

Snapchat

Snapchat, launched in 2011 with its infamous disappearing videos, remains popular among teens and younger adults. The platform gained so much traction that Meta designed a similar feature in Facebook and Instagram called “Stories” that lets users post photos or videos that disappear within 24 hours. In 2020, Snapchat launched another feature that lets users “shine a light on the most entertaining Snaps, no matter who created them.”

The platform is estimated to have roughly 692 million global monthly active users last year, according to eMarketer.

Twitch

For TikTok users who enjoy the “TikTok Live” feed that features livestreamed videos, Twitch could be a good alternative. The Amazon-owned platform is a leader in the streaming industry and allows users on the platform to watch some of the internet’s most popular streamers, such as Kai Cenat. Twitch says it has 105 million monthly visitors.

Clapper

Clapper, a TikTok clone, has also been gaining some traction amid the looming ban. The app was launched in 2020 by Dallas-based entrepreneur Edison Chen, and focuses on Gen X and millennial users. In September of that year, the company described itself in a Facebook post as a “free speech” platform that did not “censor posts and comments.” But in blog post on its website from 2021, the company wrote it “stopped being a ‘Free Speech’ platform” in September 2020 and “changed its mission and goals” to focus on “community”.

Other little-known apps

For TikTok users who want to get away from the overcrowded spots, there are lesser-known apps like Triller, which is popular for music videos, and Zigazoo, which was designed with kids in mind.

If none of these apps tickle your fancy, it's also possible that other platforms could emerge in the next few months as companies attempt to attract users looking for a new place to go.

Contact Us