TikTok to Shut Down U.S. App Sunday Unless Supreme Court Intervenes in Ban

Jan 15, 2025, 04:09 AM

TikTok is preparing to shut down its U.S. app on Sunday, January 19th, unless the Supreme Court intervenes to block the federal ban requiring the app to be sold to a non-Chinese entity. The popular video-sharing platform, owned by China-based ByteDance, faces a nationwide ban unless it complies with the law mandating divestiture by January 19th, 2025. TikTok's legal team has urged the Supreme Court to consider the broader implications of banning the app, warning that it could set a precedent for government overreach in content censorship. However, the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of TikTok's arguments that forcing it to divest or cease operations would violate free speech rights, leaving the app with few paths to survival. ByteDance has stated it will not sell TikTok. President-elect Donald J. Trump has requested to prevent the ban, but the Supreme Court has signaled it may deny the request. If the ban proceeds, TikTok users in the United States will lose access to the app, even if they have it already installed, and will be redirected to a website providing details about the ban.