TikTok announced it will cease operations in the United States by January 19 if the Supreme Court does not strike down or delay a law requiring its Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the platform.
The social media giant, which serves over 170 million monthly users in the U.S., made this declaration in a December legal filing as it faces mounting pressure from legislation signed by President Biden in April 2023.
The law, passed with broad bipartisan support, would remove TikTok from U.S. app stores and block internet providers from allowing access to the platform unless ByteDance sells to an American buyer. Government officials cite national security concerns, arguing Chinese authorities could potentially access U.S. user data or manipulate content through ByteDance's control.
TikTok strongly disputes these claims, stating there is no evidence of China attempting to access user information or influence content. The company argues the law violates First Amendment rights and would cause severe business impacts - even a month-long shutdown could result in losing one-third of daily U.S. users and substantial advertising revenue.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on January 10, just nine days before the law takes effect. President-elect Donald Trump, who previously supported a ban but now has 14.7 million TikTok followers, has requested time to seek a "political resolution" after taking office on January 20.
Several potential buyers have emerged, including "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary. However, ByteDance maintains TikTok is not for sale, setting up a high-stakes legal showdown that could determine the platform's future in America.
If the law proceeds, existing users could keep their current app version but would be unable to download updates. New users would be blocked from downloading TikTok entirely.
The case represents a landmark collision between free speech protections and national security concerns in the social media era, with millions of users and content creators anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.