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Ready for the TikTok Ban? What to Know Before Jan. 19

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Sarah Baus of Charleston, South Carolina, a content creator on TikTok, holds a sign that reads 'Keep TikTok' outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building as the court hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Update, 10:30 on Sunday:

After going dark Saturday night, TikTok said it would come back online Sunday. “TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company stated on X. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the ban does not violate the Constitution’s free speech protections and can proceed.

TikTok issued a statement late Friday that the app would be forced to “go dark” without an intervention from the Biden administration, as of Saturday users attempting to open TikTok were greeted with a message reading, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”

The message also added: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

Congress originally passed the law behind the ban on April 2024, with both Democrats and Republicans arguing that TikTok represents a national security risk for the U.S. because ByteDance is based in China — a country the government considers to be a foreign adversary.

In just a few years, the U.S. has become the country with the most TikTok users in the world, and the app has formed deep ties with the country’s economy.

Thousands of small businesses — many in California — depend on the app to reach customers. “If TikTok ends up going away … how will we reach out to Gen Z and this entire community that we’ve built?” said Meryl Marr, vice president of marketing at Straus Family Creamery, a Sonoma County dairy company.

Scrolling down the TikTok’s “For You” page this week feels like scrolling through a river of anxiety, worries and rumors, as users try to figure out what the ban actually entails. Some users have posted videos claiming that using the app after Jan. 19 will lead to jail time, while others are expressing their anger at the federal government.

“Banning TikTok is fascist,” Alex Joy Pucci, a New York-based wellness content creator with over 182,000 followers, claimed in a recent video. “Only fascist countries ban apps claiming national security.”

Keep reading for a breakdown of what the law actually said, who the ban applies to and the latest on the recent Supreme Court decision that permits the ban.

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What will happen to TikTok on my phone on Jan. 19?

One of the biggest pieces of misinformation floating around social media right now is that users will wake up on Jan. 19 and see that the TikTok app has disappeared from their phones overnight.

That is not correct.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act does not say anything about TikTok having to disappear from cellphones by a certain date. Instead:

  • Platforms like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store will no longer be able to have TikTok available for downloads or uploads.
  • After the ban comes into place, companies that store and manage websites will be prohibited from distributing, maintaining or updating TikTok’s website, which is currently available on desktop computers.

In other words, the law targets the distribution and maintenance of the app — not consumption by individual users. That said, users will no longer be able to update the app or re-download it if they have deleted it.

Social media companies regularly provide updated versions of their apps to keep up with changes companies like Google and Apple make on the mobile operating system our phones run on. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to use an app that can’t keep up with those changes. Ultimately, the app will become incompatible with your phone.

That could also make it very difficult to upload videos to the app, affecting the experience of thousands of content creators who have helped the app grow so quickly.

Will it become a crime to use TikTok once the ban begins?

Individual users will not be subject to criminal or civil penalties if they use the app after Jan. 19, according to Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project. “Its penalties are directed at companies that provide services to TikTok in the United States.”

At the end of last year, the ACLU filed a brief in support of TikTok’s lawsuit against the government’s ban, arguing that the ban gives the government too much power to limit free speech online more than it actually prevents a national security risk.

If you have downloaded your favorite videos from TikTok, the law does not ban you from watching them on your phone after Jan. 19.

Will it be illegal to access or download TikTok using work-arounds like a VPN?

Videos abound on TikTok that show creators explaining different ways of how to download or update the TikTok app after Jan. 19. One strategy: downloading a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access the Internet from another country. A VPN tricks your phone into thinking that you’re someplace else, some place where it’s legal to download TikTok, for instance.

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According to the ACLU’s Toomey, the TikTok ban does not target individuals who use a VPN. “It’s important for people to understand that they will not be subject to criminal or civil penalties if they continue to use TikTok on their phone,” he said, asserting once more that the law focuses on companies and websites that distribute TikTok.

But even with a VPN, the content you see on TikTok after Jan. 19 may be completely different from what you’re used to. Because it will become harder and harder for many U.S.-based content creators to post videos, many are expected to switch to other platforms if they haven’t already started doing so.

Will it be illegal to use other apps based in China, like Xiaohongshu?

In these last few days before the ban kicks in, thousands of Americans have downloaded another social media app based in China: Xiaohongshu — also known as Little Red Book or RedNote. The app is similar to TikTok as it offers a seemingly limitless supply of vertical videos, along with tools to create blog-like content.

However, the language of the federal ban appears to hold the door open to including any other app based out of any country considered a foreign adversary. That list includes not just China but also Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Is there any hope of this ban being averted in the courts?

When Congress passed the bill behind the ban, it gave TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, two choices: the ban or sell the app to an American business — a divestiture. But TikTok sued the federal government instead, arguing that the government is contravening free speech protections in the U.S. Constitution.

The case finally reached the Supreme Court  on Friday, only a few days before the ban’s start date. And despite several civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, coming in support of TikTok, the court ultimately decided “that the divestiture is necessary to address [Congress’] well-supported national security concerns.” The end result: The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government does have the power to ban TikTok.

Trump will be sworn in as the next president on Jan. 20 — one day after the ban is set to begin.

The incoming Trump administration is considering several strategies, including a potential executive order to keep TikTok running. However, they may have few options,  as any executive order from the White House could be challenged by the other branches of government despite conservative majorities in both Congress and the Supreme Court.

This story includes reporting from KQED’s Samantha Lim.

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