TikTok is reportedly preparing to shut down its popular short-video app to hundreds of millions of users in the U.S. if a federal ban goes into effect Sunday, but some lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, are urging action be taken to prevent it.
Sunday is the deadline for TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets or allow the app to face a nationwide ban unless the Supreme Court moves to block it. While such a ban would effectively remove TikTok from app stores, it appears ByteDance is making plans to shut down the social media app in the U.S., sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Information first reported the news.
The revelation comes after the Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold a law President Joe Biden signed last spring on national security grounds — even as President-elect Donald Trump and some lawmakers are advocating for an extension on the Sunday deadline.
Here’s what to know about the ban, and what would happen under TikTok’s reported plan.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, other lawmakers oppose TikTok ban deadline
Some lawmakers are urging Biden and the Supreme Court to take steps to prevent TikTok from being banned on Sunday
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, on Monday, said he planned to introduce legislation to delay the Jan. 19 deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok by an additional 270 days.
“TikTok creators and users across the nation are understandably alarmed. They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts, and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated,” Markey said in a statement. “These communities cannot be replicated on another app. A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.”
Markey has also joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, in submitting a bipartisan brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court’s decision to uphold a TikTok ban. In the brief, the lawmakers argued that “there are less drastic measures that could effectively address data security issues without infringing on constitutional rights.”
“A ban on TikTok not only violates the free speech of millions of Americans, but it also jeopardizes the livelihoods of creators and small business owners who use the app,” Khanna said in a statement. “We need laws to protect Americans’ data, but banning TikTok is not the answer.”
Trump has also urged the Supreme Court to delay the deadline to give his administration time after taking office on Monday to pursue a political resolution.
What would happen to the TikTok app on smartphones under a ban?
Under TikTok’s plan, people attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, Reuters reported, citing sources who requested anonymity as the matter is not public.
The company also plans to give users an option to download all their data so that they can take a record of their personal information, they said.
USA TODAY reached out Wednesday to TikTok regarding details of the reported plan, which is different than what would be mandated by law.
Under the law, a TikTok ban would essentially make new downloads on app stores like Apple and Google no longer be possible. While existing users could still access and use the app, they would be unable to update the app, which would likely degrade and stop working over time.
What would happen to TikTok employees in US?
Despite the looming ban and TikTok’s plans to shutter the app, it appears the jobs of 7,000 U.S. employees may be safe.
TikTok plans to keep paying U.S. workers even if the Supreme Court does not overturn a law that would force the sale of the app in the U.S., according to an internal memo reviewed Tuesday by Reuters sent by the company’s leadership.
“I cannot emphasize enough that your well-being is a top priority and so most importantly, I want to reinforce that as employees in the U.S., your employment, pay, and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation hasn’t been resolved before the Jan. 19 deadline,” the memo to TikTok employees said.
“The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US. user experience,” the company said.
