What TikTok could look like for users in the U.S. — and around the world — if it goes dark

The U.S. Supreme Court could release a decision to uphold a ban of TikTok on Friday, as the outgoing Biden administration pushes the issue to president-elect Donald Trump, who has demonstrated a willingness to save the social media juggernaut.

The Chinese-owned platform is preparing to go dark on Sunday, should the country’s top court choose to uphold a ban that the Biden administration put forward, citing national security concerns. The platform can’t continue operation in the U.S. unless it is sold.

NBC News quoted a Joe Biden official as saying that “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday,” and that the administration is looking for a way to implement the law without the app going dark.

Trump’s incoming natural security adviser, Mike Waltz, meanwhile said that Trump would intervene if the Supreme Court upholds the ban.

Still, the 170 million Americans who use the app might see some changes if the ban goes through.

While U.S. users won’t be forced to delete the app, it could become increasingly unusable.

Carmi Levy, a tech analyst in London., Ont., expects “more of a fizzle than a Big Bang. But bottom line is, if you live in the U.S., the experience is going to be a lot worse over time than it is now.”

Here’s what could happen to TikTok if a ban goes through:

• Removal from app stores: The U.S. will force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their respective app stores so that U.S. users can’t download it. Lawmakers told the tech giants to be prepared for such a move back in December and can fine them if they don’t comply.
• App updates will stop: U.S. users who already have the app likely won’t be able to update it anymore. That means bugs and glitches won’t get fixed and new features won’t be added, making TikTok increasingly frustrating to use.
• Hackers could gain steam: No updates mean no opportunity to fix security issues affecting the app, which could make users more vulnerable to hacks and cybersecurity breaches.
• A message from TikTok: If the ban is enforced, TikTok will show U.S. users who already have the app a message that informs them of the law. It will also offer them a chance to download their personal data.

Toronto cybersecurity expert Ritesh Kotak has a different hypothesis. He thinks that TikTok users will be able to click on the app, “but the screen wouldn’t load. It might just be a wheel that continues to scroll, but probably chances are it’s just going to be completely blank and you won’t be able to use the app at all.”

How will U.S. users work around a ban?

What about workarounds? Some users have suggested that they’ll scroll through TikTok using a VPNor virtual private network, which is a tool that lets you hide your digital location.

But that might not be as easy as it sounds. TikTok likely has other means of tracking a user’s location, like using geolocation data from an individual’s phone. And the U.S. government will likely put a mechanism in place that stops IP addresses belonging to TikTok from being accessed at all, says Kotak.

Users who circumvent the ban and get caught might be hit with financial penalties, but “we just don’t know, because we don’t know what the type of punishment is actually going to be,” he added.

What happens if 170M users vanish?

Content creators recently told CBC News what the disappearance of TikTok could mean for them. Once 170 million U.S. users vanish, what will TikTok feeds look like for Canadians and for other users around the world?

“This is a global application, well over a billion users around the world. And they, too, will be affected because the American users of Tiktok form a significant audience for many of the global users outside of the U.S.,” said Levy.

“Suddenly, the remaining users in other countries might find it no longer as valuable once all the Americans have disappeared or find some other app to use.”

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will reportedly attend Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 — a gesture that aligns with other tech executives hoping to build a friendly relationship with the incoming administration.