(Almost) official: 170 million Americans may lose access to TikTok for good due to ban

TikTok reportedly plans to shut down its US operations on Sunday, January 19, 2025, due to a federal ban unless a last-minute legal or political intervention occurs.

An exclusive report from Reuters says that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is ready to take the fall as it refuses to bow down to the US government’s pressure to divest and sell its operations in the States by the aforementioned date.

Once the ban comes into full effect, as the report mentions, you’ll see a pop-up message with a website link about the ban. But, it’s not all bad: The shutdown aims to shield service providers from legal risks and allow quick restoration if Trump reverses the ban.

While President-elect Donald Trump may consider delaying enforcement by up to 90 days, as The Washington Post says, the Biden administration has stated it cannot act without a credible divestiture plan.

Since the news broke out, American users, which comprise about 170 million, have been jumping ship to other platforms. Sure, you can still access TikTok if you’ve already downloaded it, but the app would degrade over time due to a lack of support.

RedNote, a Chinese app that looks like a mix of Pinterest and Instagram, has been experiencing a mass exodus of Americans joining the platform. Or, in their words, the “TikTok refugees.” The massive jump also propelled the app to the top of Apple’s App Store’s rank of free social media apps.

Reports also said that Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok’s US operation to Elon Musk, but a TikTok spokesperson quickly refuted the news.