Chinese short-video app TikTok is preparing to shut down in the United States on Sunday — when a law banning the app takes effect — but will keep its U.S. employees.
U.S. users who try to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website containing information about the ban, technology portal The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
TikTok also plans to give users the option to download all their data so they can record their personal information, the report said.
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Meanwhile, the app told its 7,000 employees in the United States in an internal memo that their well-being is the “company's top priority” and that it will continue to pay them.
“I cannot stress enough that your well-being is a top priority, so most importantly, I want to stress that as a U.S. employee, your employment, wages, and benefits are safe and our offices will remain open, even in January. The situation has not been resolved by the deadline of the 19th,” the memo to TikTok employees said.
In the memo seen by Reuters, TikTok said: “Our leadership team remains focused on planning for various scenarios and continuing to chart a path forward.”
“The way the bill is written will not impact the entity you are employed by, only the experience for U.S. users,” the company said, adding that it will continue to respond to the situation to protect employees and its U.S. users.
Closure not mandated by law
TikTok’s move follows Friday's frosty U.S. Supreme Court hearingwhich calls for the repeal of a law that gives its Chinese parent company ByteDance a deadline of January 19 to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban.
Courts are widely expected to uphold the law.
However, the law does not mandate that TikTok be shut down. Once effective, the law will enforce a ban on new TikTok downloads from the Apple or Google app stores.
Existing users will still be able to continue using the app for a while, but removal from the app store will mean the app will no longer be updated for bugs or security flaws.
TikTok has said in a Supreme Court filing that if divestment or banning laws are not halted, it will soon be in trouble and “essentially the platform will be shut down.”
The company also said in a filing last month that an estimated one-third of its 170 million U.S. users would stop visiting the platform if the ban lasted for a month.
Users move to other Chinese apps
TikTok users, meanwhile, have come up with their own contingency plans — and for many, they involve turning to other Chinese apps.
Over 500,000 “TikTok Refugees” Already switched to China’s RedNote Because they are looking for alternatives to this popular app.
On Monday, that meant more than 50,000 U.S. and Chinese users joined a room on RedNote called “TikTok Refugees.”
Veteran Chinese users welcomed their American counterparts with some confusion and exchanged views with them on topics such as food and youth unemployment.
However, Americans sometimes turn to riskier areas.
“Can I ask what the differences are between the laws in mainland China and Hong Kong?” asked an American user.
“We don't want to talk about this here,” one Chinese user responded.
This kind of impromptu cultural exchange can be seen everywhere on RedNote, Known as Little Red Book in Chinathe app soared to the top of the U.S. download charts this week.
According to estimates from application data research company Sensor Tower, downloads of RedNote in the United States increased by more than 200% year-on-year this week, an increase of 194% from the previous week.
Lemon8, another social media app owned by ByteDance, was the second most popular free app on Apple's App Store charts on Tuesday and experienced a similar surge last month. In December, its downloads surged 190% to approximately 3.4 million times.
Anger at the U.S. government
The influx appears to have taken RedNote by surprise, with two sources familiar with the company telling Reuters it was working to find ways to manage English content and build English-Chinese translation tools.
Still, the company is keen to tap into the sudden influx of attention, as executives see it as a potential path to TikTok-like global recognition.
Some users said they joined the platform to find alternatives to Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram, as well as Elon Musk's X.
Some are skeptical they can rebuild TikTok's fan base on the apps.
“This is different: Instagram, X, or any other app,” said Brian Atabansi, 29, a business analyst and content creator in San Diego, California. “Mainly because of how organic it is to build a community on TikTok,” he said.
For others, the shift symbolizes anger at the U.S. government's stance on TikTok.
Stella Kittrell, a 29-year-old content creator in Baltimore, Maryland, said, “Americans using Rednote feel like a shameless middle finger to the U.S. government’s overreach in corporate and privacy issues. . She said that she joined RedNote in the hope of further cooperation with Chinese companies, which she found very helpful.
In recent days, TikTok has been awash with jokes and posts about the app being a “Chinese spy.”
Their posts are part of a larger dissatisfaction among TikTok users over banning the app “in the name of safety and security,” despite the app's use by many lawmakers and its growing popularity on platforms like Facebook and When monetizing, US news publisher NBC reports.
“I'm going to download it onto my phone. I'm going to let it track other apps. I'm going to give it permission to see my location and all my contacts, and then I'm going to let it sit there,” NBC quoted one A TikTok user said, referring to RedNote.
“I'm going to keep it as a little window through which my personal Chinese spies can see everything I'm doing.”
- Reuters, with additional editing and input by Vishakha Saxena
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'China won't allow it': TikTok compares spinoff to chip ban
Donald Trump may try to block US ban on TikTok – WaPo
Trump says he will ‘never ban TikTok’ if elected – New York Post
TikTok comes under U.S. legal crackdown for 'harmful' impact on children
U.S. polls show that nearly half of Generation Z wish TikTok had never been invented
EU MP: TikTok CEO 'must explain role in Romanian polls' – Politico
Canada orders TikTok to close offices in country – Reuters
