The US Supreme Court will be hearing arguments on Friday, January 10 from TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance, which is seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that will ban the short-form video app effective January 19.

According to the law, ByteDance is forced to sell the social media app by January 19 or face a ban in the United States due to national security concerns.

On December 16, 2024, TikTok made a request for an injunction to pause the ban, arguing that the ban deadline is a day before the Presidential inauguration and if it proceeds, it would "silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern."

So here is what could happen on January 19 if the ban becomes successful.

New users will not be able to download TikTok from app stores and existing users will not be able to update the app, because the law prohibits any entity from facilitating the download or maintenance of the TikTok application.

According to experts, TikTok’s 170 million users in the US will likely still be able to use the app because it is already downloaded on their phones, however, over time, without software and security updates, the app will likely become unusable.

TikTok users in the US have expressed concern and panic over this potential ban since it was announced. Content creators who have built businesses from their TikTok followings are preparing for the worst.

While some have begun posting TikTok videos showing others how to use virtual private networks (VPNs), which mask an internet user’s location, as a way to circumvent the possible ban.

Others remain hopeful, especially considering that President-elect Donald Trump who unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok during his first term in the White House in 2020, has reversed his stance, promising during his second presidential race last year that he would try to save TikTok.

Trump has recently urged the Supreme Court to delay the TikTok ban in order to allow time for a negotiated solution, citing that the popular video-sharing app may have helped reach some key voters in the presidential election, that he has "a warm spot in my heart for TikTok" and that he would "take a look" at the matter.

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US Supreme Court to hear final plea from TikTok against potential ban