TikTok is on the brink of shutting down its operations in the United States this Sunday, impacting 170 million American users, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The closure stems from a federal ban set to take effect unless the Supreme Court or the U.S. government intervenes at the eleventh hour.
A law signed in April mandates a ban on new TikTok downloads from Apple or Google app stores if Chinese parent ByteDance fails to divest the social media platform. Meanwhile, current users could theoretically still open the app—but as of Sunday, U.S. companies would be barred from providing the support services necessary for ongoing distribution, maintenance, or updates.
The Washington Post reported that President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office the day after the ban takes effect, is considering issuing an executive order to suspend enforcement of the shutdown for 60 to 90 days.
The Supreme Court is now weighing whether to uphold the law and allow TikTok to be banned on Sunday, overturn the ban altogether, or pause the ban to allow more time for a decision.
TikTok warns that halting U.S. operations could affect millions of users around the world because the platform relies heavily on American service providers to maintain global availability. In a court filing last month, TikTok requested an order to “avoid interruption of services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States.”
If forced to shut down, TikTok plans to display a pop-up message for U.S. users attempting to access the app, directing them to a website with information about the ban. Users will have an option to download all their data so they can preserve a record of their personal information.
Both TikTok and ByteDance have asked for a delay in the ban’s implementation, arguing that it violates First Amendment protections against government abridgment of free speech.
According to court filings, TikTok estimates that one-third of its 170 million American users would cease using the platform after a month of the ban.