TikTok may shutdown Sunday if banned

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TikTok is preparing to potentially make the app unavailable to its 170 million American users on Sunday, the same day a U.S. ban is set to go into effect, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s planning who spoke with NBC News.

A law signed by President Joe Biden in April requires TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership and sell to a U.S. company or it will be shut down. If the Supreme Court declares the law unconstitutional before then, TikTok can continue to exist as it is today.

But a final decision has not been made by TikTok on what will happen if the Supreme Court rules against the company,” according to the person with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Active conversations — including phone calls and meetings — were ongoing as of midday on Wednesday, the person said.

A Tuesday report from The Information said if the justices uphold the law, the app will go dark rather than allow people already on the app to continue using it, citing two unnamed sources it said were familiar with TikTok’s plans.

Another option being discussed, according to the person who spoke with NBC News, is the potential for content to still be viewable in TikTok for users who have the application, though the app would no longer receive updates. It would be unavailable for new downloads in any app stores in the U.S., and the app would stop working over time because it would not be able to receive bug fixes and updates.

Noel Francisco, an attorney for TikTok, told the Supreme Court on Friday that to his understanding the app would “go dark” on Jan. 19 if the company lost the case. “Essentially, the platform shuts down,” Francisco said.

That is what happened in India when TikTok was banned there on June 29, 2020. Nikhil Pahwa, who founded the tech policy publication MediaNama in India, told NBC News that the app shut down the night the ban went into effect.

“By morning, we found that TikTok wasn’t accessible,” Pahwa said. “So the effect was immediate. It was just — one evening access was just cut off. Users had nowhere to go. Brands that were advertising on TikTok had nowhere to go.”

For Americans visiting India, opening the TikTok app on their phone results in a notification that says “Our services are not available in your country or region.” Pahwa said that for Indian users, the mobile app doesn’t work and clicking on a TikTok link on a desktop computer results in “a simple landing page that says that the app is no longer available in India.”

It had 200 million internet users in India at that time, and so when the ban happened, they were taken aback, they didn’t know what to do. They had to find somewhere to go,” he said. “Over the years, what’s happened is that Instagram emerged as the one that won. It’s where brands have migrated, it’s where users have built profiles. Many users weren’t able to recreate the success they had on TikTok.”

Within two months of the TikTok ban in India, Instagram rolled out its TikTok competitor Reels and YouTube released its competitor Shorts. They are also the primary alternative platforms for short-form video content in the U.S., although Americans have flocked to a Chinese app called RedNote in recent days, pushing it to the top of Apple’s App Store. India has banned almost 500 Chinese apps so far, Pahwa said. He said he is unable to access TikTok with a virtual private network or VPN, which has been floated as a way to get around the ban by some U.S. users.

TikTok isn’t just a source for entertainment. It’s a place where many users make money. Some of them have full-time careers based on TikTok, while companies also use TikTok for marketing. Whether the app goes dark immediately or keeps working but degrades over time will affect how creators and brands use the platform.

Will Trowbridge, the CEO of creative agency Saylor, works with clients like the Walt Disney Company on TikTok content. Saylor has also worked with NBCUniversal, the company that owns NBC News. Trowbridge said that even if TikTok doesn’t immediately go away on Jan. 19, remaining available on phones that already have the app downloaded, at least one of his clients doesn’t want to post anymore. Some are concerned that the app would become more prone to security risks, like hacking, if it isn’t able to receive updates or support.

Americans who have joined the Chinese social media platform RedNote in protest of the U.S. government’s looming ban on TikTok have found themselves building new connections across international borders.

“I just want to say it’s so amazing to have you here,” one person, who called himself Abe from RedNote, said in a video on the app, imploring the American “TikTok refugees” to stay with it. “For so long, we haven’t really been able to connect or talk with each other like this, but now we finally can and it feels so special. This is such a real chance for us to get to know each other.”

Because of tensions between the Chinese and U.S. governments, their digital ecosystems haven’t often overlapped. Many popular U.S. apps like Instagram are banned in China, and some companies like ByteDance, which owns TikTok, have built separate apps for the Chinese market and other markets because of rules and regulations.

But user backlash to the U.S. government’s proposed TikTok ban has led to a flood of Americans signing up for RedNote in the past 24 hours — a development many Chinese users said they thought would never happen. It is impossible to quantify how many TikTok “refugees” have made accounts on RedNote. Still, Chinese users have excitedly welcomed the new American users, whether that’s in Mandarin, English or through the power of memes.

On Monday, as the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be leaning toward upholding the law banning TikTok starting this Sunday, many people began posting that they would join the China-based Chinese app out of spite.

Many users going to Rednote — known as Xiaohongshu in China, or XHS and Little Red Book elsewhere — openly mocked U.S. concerns about security. One person posted to TikTok about Rednote, saying: “I’m going to download it on my phone. I’m going to let it track other apps. I’m going to give it permission to see my location and all of my contacts and then I’m just going to let it sit there.”

After downloading the app, however, many began to notice that both they and the Chinese user base shared a similar sense of humor. One joke that has begun to circulate on TikTok is that people will “miss my Chinese spy” following a ban. One TikTok video joking about this has been viewed more than 10 million times.

Many Chinese on Rednote welcomed American users to the app playing into the joke.

“Hello, I’m a spy. Please show me your cat,” one Chinese user commented on an American user’s video.

Others shared images of a Chinese statue appearing to carry the Statue of Liberty.

One user joked in a video that he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

“After so many years being yelled, “Go back to China! Go back to your country!” Finally, we get a shot,” the Chinese user said. “Go back to America! Go back to your country! Just kidding.”

One resounding joke on the majority Mandarin-speaking app included Chinese users politely asking the new American users for help with their English homework and if the American users would help them practice their English. Additionally, many users asked Americans to subtitle their videos so they could be translated into Mandarin.

“oh so NOW you’re learning mandarin,” joked the language learning platform Duolingo on X.

Additionally, those who were still using RedNote and TikTok warned users that there could be a culture shock in some ways — video that explicitly promote thinness and potentially unhealthy eating habits are common on RedNote because of cultural differences.

Some still noted the benefits of having Chinese and Americans able to communicate directly.

In a video shared on RedNote, British user Ethereal Games noted how unusual it was that “everyone has been really nice to each other, which is odd because this is the internet.” He added how he thought this move by American users of RedNote completely undermined the TikTok ban.

“The best part is it’s completely backfired on the U.S. government because American citizens and Chinese citizens are getting along really well. They’re not the scary Chinese enemy anymore,” he said in his video. “They’re sharing cat memes and talking about Taylor Swift.”

Toward the end of the second day of Americans inundating RedNote, the tone had remained jovial with people remarking over the good-natured camaraderie of their new social media friends. Many Chinese users posted that they were shocked by how many people were engaging with their content. Some made videos just to reintroduce their pages and encouraged their new American followers to keep using RedNote.

“Hello, friends from TikTok. Welcome to XHS. I’m shocked when I opened this application tonight because I cannot imagine that it will be an international place,” said a 25-year-old Chinese user named Sylvia, who said she was based in Shanghai. “I hope all of you can enjoy the time here, and I promise all of you will love it.”

Another Chinese user, who went by DWWWWW, said in a video how wild it was to have Americans on RedNote. In one video, DWWWWW began making “Chinese lessons from your SPY.” In another he shared his disbelief for how many Americans were now following him.

“Hey TikTok ‘refugees,’ I’m so overwhelmed by you guys today,” DWWWWW said in the video. “This is so cool and crazy. I’m posting this to see if this is real. I’m Chinese and you can ask me anything about China.”

He also offered one clarification for his new followers: “You might be in the wrong place because here is not the Chinese version of TikTok. Here is the Chinese version of Instagram.”