What will happen to users’ TikTok accounts after its ‘immediate shutdown’ this weekend
The United States is on the cusp of potentially banning TikTok, with national security concerns being voiced by government officials in the Supreme Court.
In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring owners of the popular short-form video-sharing platform to sell it by January 19 after it was accused of links with the Chinese government, writes the BBC.
Why has the ban of TikTok come about?
Officials claim TikTok poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ due to concerns that the data of 170 million users could be accessed and sold to Beijing.
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The New York Times reports that these concerns prompted Congress to pass legislation demanding TikTok cease operating in the US unless it was sold to a government-approved buyer by January 19.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have vehemently denied any links to the Chinese government, alleging a ban could have a ‘staggering’ impact on free speech in the country.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump—who comes into office the day after the ban is set to come into force—has asked for the potential ban to be delayed so he may seek a ‘political’ solution.
Can you use TikTok after the proposed ban in the US?
If Congress bans TikTok on January 19, then people in the US who haven’t downloaded the TikTok app from their app stores will no longer be able to access it, reports CBS News.
Unfortunately, it’s not exactly clear what will happen to those who already have the video platform downloaded on their electronic devices.
Though the BBC predicts that updates for the app will not be made available, which would make the app buggier and, eventually, unusable.
"If you already have TikTok on your phone you can still use it, but over time you will not receive any updates, so the app will become obsolete," added Qi Liao, a professor of computer and network security at Central Michigan University.
A potential fall in the app's quality
Timothy Edgar, a professor of cybersecurity at Brown University, believes users who try to access TikTok after the ban will be met with a message relaying that it is no longer available in the country.
“They will get a notice that says, 'This service is not available in your country'," he explained to CBS MoneyWatch. "That's most likely what will happen based on what we've seen in other countries that have banned certain platforms.
"This generation may be in for a very rude awakening if the law goes into effect and they find a major social media platform that they came to rely on as creators, or just users, is suddenly not available."
"Various issues could arise because TikTok may introduce new features or security patches, and the app in the US will have a sluggish performance as well as security issues. So eventually TikTok users will probably stop using the vulnerable version.”
Meanwhile, the Information claims the app will be shut down immediately unless the Supreme Court moves to block it this weekend.
It’s alleged people attempting to open the app will simply see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, the report said.
TikTok alternatives
TikTok’s incoming ban could push users to utilise the likes of YouTube Shorts and Meta-owned Instagram Reels, says Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at Insider Intelligence.
Another app that has seen US users flocking to it already is called RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu - which is Mandarin for 'little red book'.
The app was founded in 2013 and is reportedly extremely popular in Mandarin-speaking countries.
Bloomberg reports the app has more than 300 million monthly active users, making it an ideal place landing spot for creators and viewers alike.
RedNote isn’t a carbon copy of TikTok though, with some users describing it as a hybrid version of Instagram and Pinterest.
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, US News, Politics
Ella Scott