According to a report by Reuters on January 15, it has been revealed by insiders that TikTok is planning to shut down its application for U.S. users starting Sunday, January 19. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court takes action to prevent the ban from being enforced, the federal ban will take effect.
The closure is expected to differ from what U.S. law mandates. The law only requires new downloads of TikTok to be prohibited on Apple or Google app stores, while existing users can continue to use TikTok for a period of time.
Insiders have indicated that according to TikTok’s plan, individuals attempting to access the application will see a pop-up message guiding them to a website containing information about the ban. These insiders have requested anonymity as this matter has not been made public.
The company is also planning to offer users the option to download all their data so that they can retain personal information.
One source mentioned that shutting down such services does not require an extended timeline. They noted that as of this week, most operations are still proceeding as usual. The source mentioned that if the ban is lifted later on, TikTok will be able to resume services for U.S. users in a relatively short period of time.
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Leading U.S. science publication, “The Information,” first reported on this development. The report stated that abruptly shutting down the application rather than allowing those who have already downloaded it to continue using it will impact all TikTok users.
ByteDance, whose approximately 60% stake is held by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, with the company’s founder and employees holding 20% each, owns over 7,000 employees in the U.S.
In 2024, the U.S. Congress passed the “Protecting Americans from Foreign App Control Act,” which required ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face a ban in the U.S. President Biden subsequently signed the bill into law.
Following a failed appeal in court, TikTok submitted an emergency motion on December 9, 2024, requesting a suspension of the law’s implementation pending review by the Supreme Court.
On January 10, the Supreme Court held its first oral arguments in Washington, D.C., regarding the TikTok lawsuit. The majority of justices indicated that national security concerns should take precedence over the freedom of speech rights of the company and a group of content creators.
During last week’s debate, several justices emphasized that the government’s focus is not on limiting speech but rather on ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. Congress believes ByteDance has dangerous ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Information” reported that the comprehensive shutdown plan for TikTok helps explain the comments made by Noel Francisco, the lawyer representing TikTok, during the Supreme Court hearing, where he stated that if the court does not intervene to prevent the law from taking effect, the application will be “disabled.”
Former President-elect Trump had previously stated that there should be time to seek a “political resolution” to the issue after taking office.