Who is buying TikTok? Will you be able to use Chinese app after ban? How will it impact users? What we know so far

Is the TikTok social media app being banned in the United States? If so, since when, where and why? How will this impact users? Will TikTokers be able to download the app thereafter? What other options exist for users and TikTok owners if the app is deemed illegal?

Several questions are being raised as a ban on the popular short-video app TikTok looms in the United States. 

Here's all you need to know about the controversy and what happens next:

Is TikTok social media app being banned?

Not just yet. However, TikTok may be banned across the United States from January 19, just ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

But there's a condition's apply: TikTok sale or ban?

The US government passed a law last year that forced TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell the wildly popular platform or shut it down. The law goes into effect Sunday.

According to reports, the Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the US beginning January 19 — unless its China-based parent company sells the popular social media app.

Now, ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok faces a deadline of January 19 to find a US buyer in order to continue operating in the country.

Why US wants to ban TikTok?

TikTok is currently owned by ByteDance, a China-based company. Since it belongs to a Chinese company, the Supreme Court warned that the app should be banned on national security grounds.

The Supreme Court's Chief Justice, John Roberts, said his main concern was "TikTok’s ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company's requirement to cooperate with the Chinese government’s intelligence operations," the Associated Press reported.

The US government alleged TikTok allows China to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda. Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised US concerns about China accessing information on tens of millions of Americans, especially teenagers and people in their 20s, with whom TikTok is extremely popular.

Notably, the Chinese government has a "golden share" in ByteDance, which several members of Congress have said gives the government power over TikTok.

According to the AP, TikTok has been “on notice” since 2020, during Trump's first term, that its sale could be required if it couldn’t satisfy the US government’s national security concerns.

How have TikTok owners responded?

TikTok has previously said that the Chinese government's stake "has no bearing on ByteDance's global operations outside of China, including TikTok."

TikTok, its Chinese parent company ByteDance and app users appealed a lower court's ruling upholding the law and rejecting their argument that it violates the US Constitution's First Amendment protection against government abridgement of free speech.

TikTok, which sued the government last year over the law, has long denied it could be used as a tool of China.

Short of a policy reversal by President-elect Donald Trump or ByteDance selling its US service, TikTok will be in breach of the law within a week, triggering the search for a US buyer.

Can TikTok really be banned?

Yes. The law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by US President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to “go dark” on January 19, said lawyer Noel Francisco, representing content creators and TikTok users.

Will TikTok be sold to a US entity?

Some investors have been eyeing TikTok. Some who have shown interest are Donald Trump’s Former Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt.

Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk's name also surfaced in the buyers list. Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok's operations in the United States to billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an impending ban.

Elon Musk, X, and China's Cyberspace and Ministry of Commerce have not yet responded to such claims.

What ByteDance said on TikTok sale?

ByteDance has said it won’t sell the short-form video platform, and lawyer Francisco said a sale might never be possible under the conditions set in the law. The company's lawyer said it would be impossible to complete a sale by next week's deadline.

What would happen if TikTok isn't sold?

If TikTok isn’t sold to an approved US buyer, federal law would prohibit app stores, such as those operated by Apple and Google, from offering the popular app. It would also bar internet hosting services from hosting TikTok.

Can TikTok ban deadline be extended?

Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if it can be certified that ByteDance is making substantial progress toward a divestiture, but it is unlikely ByteDance could meet that standard.

Senator Edward Markey said he plans to introduce legislation to delay the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days.

What happens if TikTok is banned?

The companies' lawyer, Noel Francisco, said that if banned, the short video app used by 170 million Americans would quickly “go dark” and "essentially the platform shuts down."

Will TikTok users still have access to app?

Yes. TikTok users who already have the app on their phones will continue to have access to it.

However, new users won’t be able to download the app, and existing ones will no longer be able to receive updates.

"That will eventually render the app unworkable," the Justice Department said in court filings.

How would TikTok ban impact users?

Senator Edward Markey raised concerns that "a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen."

What would allow TikTok to resume operations?

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said an eventual sale of the TikTok app, even after the ban kicks in, would allow TikTok to resume operations. 

"The sale of Twitter to Elon Musk, who renamed it X, shows that the sale of a social media platform can happen quickly," she was quoted by the AP.

What are the alternatives for 'TikTok refugees'?

With TikTok facing an imminent shutdown in the United States, American content creators have moved to other Chinese social media apps.

According to AFP, Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote in English, surged to the top of the Apple App Store downloads on Monday. Another Chinese-made social app, Lemon8, has also taken over the top two positions on Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts in the US.