What happens if TikTok is banned?

TikTok volition beryllium banned successful the US connected 19 January - unless the Supreme Court accepts a last ditch ineligible bid from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, that to bash truthful would beryllium unconstitutional.

But adjacent if the country's highest judicial authorization agrees with the little courts - and Congress - that the level is simply a menace to nationalist information volition that really halt Americans utilizing it?

Will determination beryllium ways to bypass the prohibition - oregon could president-elect Donald Trump find a mode to halt a instrumentality helium says helium opposed to, adjacent if the courts uphold it.

And immoderate happens to TikTok, who stands to payment from the uncertainty clouding its future?

The astir apt mode the US would prohibition TikTok is to bid app stores, specified arsenic the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store, to marque it unavailable for download successful that region.

US lawmakers person already told tech firms to beryllium acceptable to region the app from their stores if a prohibition comes into force.

That would mean radical could nary longer usage a morganatic means to entree TikTok - though it would besides mean radical who've already got it would inactive person it connected their phones.

Because the app would not beryllium publically disposable anymore, caller updates could nary longer beryllium delivered to users successful the US - which would marque the app buggier and, eventually, unusable.

Not to notation that galore updates are provided to hole information holes successful apps, truthful if TikTok stopped getting updates that could contiguous hackers with millions of devices to target.

Of course, determination are ways astir specified a ban.

There are already galore videos circulating connected TikTok informing users however to usage a VPN (virtual backstage network) - a mode of making it look arsenic if you are successful different region.

The portion of app stores tin besides beryllium changed connected astir devices, truthful anyone tin theoretically entree apps from different countries - though this whitethorn origin different problems, not to notation apt breaking presumption of work agreements.

It is besides imaginable to instal apps downloaded from the net by modifying a instrumentality - which whitethorn interruption copyright instrumentality - and comes with its ain risks. However the authorities has besides anticipated this truthful is besides proposing to prohibition "internet hosting services" from giving radical entree to the app.

So if the prohibition took this benignant of signifier it seems apt that those who are determined to usage TikTok aft it comes into effect volition beryllium capable to bash truthful - but it won't beryllium the acquisition they are utilized to.

There are inactive different routes disposable to the authorities down the roadworthy - for example, aft India banned TikTok successful 2020, it ordered net providers to artifact entree to the app altogether.

And adjacent if radical did usage a VPN, TikTok could theoretically look astatine a user's instrumentality and place whether their mobile fig starts with a +1, to discern whether they are based successful the US, and past simply contiguous them with a surface saying the app is not disposable successful their country.

It remains to beryllium seen whether TikTok would determine to assistance the authorities successful its ain prohibition - but it is being reported by Reuters that it plans to bash so.

TikTok's ain lawyer told the Supreme Court that helium believes the app volition "go dark" successful the US unless it rules successful its favour.

The complexity of the contented means adjacent the experts are unclear astir what happens next.

Professor Milton L. Mueller of the Georgia Institute of Technology - who filed a ineligible little successful enactment of TikTok - said a deficiency of clarity astir however acold the US could widen its authorization to enforce the instrumentality makes knowing what technically happens if a prohibition goes up hard to determine.

But helium said what was wide was the interaction it would person connected users and the net itself.

"It would wholly legitimise the fragmentation of the net on nationalist oregon jurisdictional boundaries," helium said.

Trump has been wide helium does not privation the instrumentality to travel into force, asking the Supreme Court to hold its implementation portion helium seeks a "political solution."

But, should the justices uphold it, Trump does not person the powerfulness to overturn the law, which would travel into effect the time earlier helium returns to office.

But helium could simply archer the Department of Justice not to enforce it.

The authorities would beryllium efficaciously telling Apple and Google that they won't beryllium punished for continuing to let entree to TikTok, meaning the instrumentality would stay successful spot but would fundamentally beryllium redundant.

Obviously, the firms mightiness beryllium uncomfortable astir breaking the instrumentality adjacent if they've been told it's good - arsenic it would beryllium efficaciously requiring them to instrumentality the president's connection for it that they won't look punishment.

TikTok says it has 170 cardinal users successful the US who, connected average, spent 51 minutes per time connected the app successful 2024.

Ban TikTok oregon marque it little usable and that creates a immense accidental for its large tech rivals says Jasmine Enberg, expert astatine Insider Intelligence.

"Meta-owned Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, owned by Google, are the astir earthy fits for displaced users, creators, and advertisers," she says.

Facebook could payment too, though Ms Enberg says, successful communal with each Meta platforms, the arguable argumentation changes announced by brag Mark Zuckerberg could perchance lessen its appeal.

Users bring advertisers - truthful a prohibition could beryllium a large fiscal boost to those platforms.

"Chief Marketing Officers who we've spoken with confirmed that they volition divert their media dollars to Meta and Google if they tin nary longer advertise connected TikTok - this is the aforesaid behaviour we saw successful India erstwhile they banned TikTok successful 2020", said Forrester main expert Kelsey Chickering.

Lemon8, which is besides owned by ByteDance, would person been an evident spot for radical to spell pursuing a prohibition - but the instrumentality stipulates it besides applies to different apps owned oregon operated by the firm. This means Lemon8 is astir apt besides going to look being made inaccessible successful the US.

Other imaginable winners see Twitch, which made its sanction connected hosting livestreams - a fashionable diagnostic connected TikTok. Twitch is good known peculiarly to gamers, though it continues to turn with different content.

Other Chinese-owned platforms, such arsenic Xiaohongshu - known arsenic RedNote among its US users - person seen accelerated maturation successful the US and the UK.

Still, immoderate suggest nary existing app tin genuinely regenerate TikTok, successful peculiar its diagnostic TikTok Shop, which lets users acquisition products straight from videos, and makes a batch of wealth for US creators.

Craig Atkinson, CEO of integer selling bureau Code3, said determination was nary nonstop rival that radical could easy power to - and notes his bureau was signing caller contracts with clients to physique TikTok Shop campaigns arsenic precocious arsenic December.

Up until now, ByteDance has been resolute that nary merchantability of its prize plus successful the US is connected the table.

But could that alteration if it is really banned - and erstwhile a president who prides himself connected "the creation of the deal" returns to the White House?

Potential buyers proceed to enactment up - with Bloomberg News reporting connected Tuesday that the steadfast was looking astatine a merchantability to billionaire Elon Musk, though TikTok has since described this arsenic "pure fiction".

Trump's erstwhile treasury caput Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt are among those who person antecedently expressed an involvement successful buying it.

Mr McCourt, a erstwhile proprietor of the Los Angeles Dodgers shot team, said helium had secured $20 cardinal successful verbal commitments from a consortium of investors to bid for TikTok.

There is an adjacent much leftfield - and considerably little superior - projected owner.

The biggest YouTuber successful the satellite MrBeast has claimed he's present successful the moving to marque a deal aft helium had billionaires reaching retired to him astir it.

Though it whitethorn look similar a joke, helium has a important fiscal inducement to effort and prevention the app - MrBeast has much than 100m followers connected TikTok.