TikTok, the popular app where people share fun videos, might stop working for users in the United States this Sunday. This is because of a law that says TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance (based in China), must sell its U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or face a total ban in the country.
Right now, the government is worried that TikTok could be unsafe for American users because it is owned by a Chinese company. They think there might be risks to people’s private information or even national security. To fix this, they want TikTok to sell its U.S. part to another company.
What Happens If TikTok Is Banned?
If the ban happens, people who already have the TikTok app on their phones might still be able to use it for a little while. However, no one will be able to download the app from the app stores anymore. TikTok is planning to completely stop the app in the U.S. as a precaution, which means users won’t be able to open it at all. Instead, they’ll see a message explaining why it’s not working.
TikTok is also giving people a way to save their videos and data before the app shuts down so they won’t lose anything important.
Why Is This Happening?
TikTok and ByteDance think the ban isn’t fair. They say it goes against the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects free speech. TikTok is asking the Supreme Court to stop the ban while they fight to prove it’s unfair.
If the app is shut down for a whole month, TikTok believes that many of its users will stop using it altogether. Out of 170 million users in the U.S., about one-third might leave the app during that time.
What’s Next?
For now, TikTok users in the U.S. are waiting to find out what will happen this weekend. Will the app be saved, or will it disappear from phones across the country? The decision will affect millions of people who use TikTok every day to create and share videos.
This is a big moment for TikTok, as the U.S. government tries to make sure apps like it are safe for everyone to use.
