A TikTok ban in the US is set to go ahead on Sunday after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal
What a ban looks like and how it would be enforced remains uncertain. The White House says it will leave enforcement to the incoming Trump administration
Justices ruled that the law passed by Congress asking the app's Chinese owner to sell its stake or face a US ban did not violate free speech rights
The legal drama stems from the US government's national security concerns and TikTok's ties to China
Last year, ByteDance was ordered to sell the app to a US buyer or it would be banned by 19 January - that sale has not yet happened
TikTok is one of the most popular short-form video apps in the world, and is a major part of a multi-billion dollar influencer economy
TikTokers' say goodbye to their 'Chinese spy' and move to RedNote
We're minutes away from the first opinion of the Supreme Court for the day.
We don't know if it will be about TikTok, but if it is we will be here to bring you the latest.
Stick with us.
Joe Tidy
Cyber correspondent
History tells us that (in now unlikely event) the US does ban TikTok it would affect the app and its users far beyond the US.
In previous cases of the US banning companies based on national security concerns, bans and restrictions have creep around the world.
Look at Huawei – the Chinese telecoms giant – and Kaspersky – the popular Russian anti-virus maker. Both accused by the US of posing a risk of spying by the US and both eventually banned or restricted not just in the US but in dozens more countries.
It always starts with the security and intelligence group Five Eyes – the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia who normally always fall in line. All these countries have already banned TikTok from government devices. Canada has even ordered TikTok Canada to shutter its operations last year.
With Kaspersky and Huawei though we saw restrictions spread from Five Eyes countries to Europe and beyond.
The US can be very persuasive when it wants to oust a company. But it depends of course on political willing and with President Trump changing his mind on the ban, allies and others might not feel the pressure as much to follow suit.
Tom Gerken & Liv McMahon
Technology reporters
Image source, Getty ImagesThe most likely way the US would ban TikTok is to order app stores, such as the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store, to make it unavailable for download in that region.
US lawmakers have already told tech firms to be ready to remove the app from stores if a ban comes into force.
That would mean people could no longer use a legitimate means to access TikTok - though it would also mean people who've already got it would still have it on their phones.
Because the app would not be publicly available anymore, new updates could no longer be delivered to users in the US - which would make the app buggier and, eventually, unusable.
Not to mention that many updates are provided to fix security holes in apps, so if TikTok stopped getting updates that could present hackers with millions of devices to target.
Of course, there are ways around such a ban.
There are already many videos circulating on TikTok informing users how to use a VPN (virtual private network) - a way of making it appear as if you are in another region.
The region of app stores can also be changed on most devices, so anyone can theoretically access apps from other countries - though this may cause other problems, not to mention likely breaking terms of service agreements.
President-elect Donald Trump just posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussing a range of topics including TikTok.
"We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects," he wrote in the post.
He described the call as "a very good one" for both China and the US.
"It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately," Trump said.
Tom Gerken & Liv McMahon
Technology reporters
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump has been clear he does not want the law to come into force, asking the Supreme Court to delay its implementation while he seeks a "political solution".
But, should the justices uphold it, Trump does not have the power to overturn the law, which would come into effect the day before he returns to office.
But he could simply tell the Department of Justice not to enforce it.
The government would be effectively telling Apple and Google that they won't be punished for continuing to allow access to TikTok, meaning the law would remain in place but would essentially be redundant.
Obviously, the firms might be uncomfortable about breaking the law even if they've been told it's fine - as it would be effectively requiring them to take the president's word for it that they won't face punishment.
Chinese owner ByteDance says it plans to shut off the app for its 170 million US users by Sunday, if the ban goes ahead.
If banned, users trying to open the app will be shown a message directing them to a website telling them more about the ban, reports say, citing people familiar with TikTok's plans.
"We go dark - essentially the platform shuts down," a lawyer representing TikTok and ByteDance, told the Supreme Court last week.
But Congressman Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican, says Trump would intervene if the Supreme Court upholds a law that bans the platform in the US unless it is sold by 19 January.
"We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark," Waltz said yesterday.
Image source, EPAUS officials and lawmakers have accused TikTok's parent company ByteDance of being linked to the Chinese government.
Many have cited national security concerns over the app, claiming that it could be forced by Beijing to hand over data about its 170 million US users.
The US Justice Department has said that because of its Chinese parent company, and access to data on American users, TikTok poses "a national-security threat of immense depth and scale".
In April 2024, US Congress passed a bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law, giving ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or see TikTok shut down across the US.
TikTok and ByteDance deny being linked to the Chinese government, or that any data would be handed over. They have also previously ruled out a sale.
Watch: Can these young Americans live without TikTok?
With over 170 million American users, the US Justice Department has said TikTok poses "a national security threat of immense depth and scale" because of its Chinese parent company and access to US users' data.
The BBC asked young people if they could live without the app.
President Biden will not enforce a US ban on TikTok - which is set to go into effect on Sunday, one day before he leaves office - according to reports citing the White House.
The Supreme Court is weighing if the ban should go ahead on Sunday.
If that ban continues and Biden does not enforce it, President-elect Donald Trump would be left with that task after he is sworn in on Monday.
A White House official told US media: "Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement."
Several US officials say TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance should have more time to sell the app, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged Biden to extend a deadline to shut it down on Sunday by 90 days.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe US Congress passed a law last April that required TikTok to either discontinue its use in the US or be sold from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to a non-Chinese company.
Supporters of the law say TikTok, which has more than 170 million users in the US, poses a national security risk, and allege that ByteDance is controlled by China.
Concerns include China harvesting Americans’ private data and the spread of propaganda and disinformation.
ByteDance and TikTok users argue that the law is a violation of America’s constitutionally-backed free speech rights.
In a briefing filed to the Supreme Court, TikTok said “the government has banned an extraordinary amount of speech”, adding that barring Americans "from operating one of the nation’s most significant speech venues is profoundly unconstitutional".
Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of a looming TikTok ban in the US.
The Supreme Court will announce opinions at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT), but we don't know if the TikTok case will be one of them.
But a US law is set to ban the hugely popular social media app on Sunday, so time is fast running out for the highest court in the nation to weigh in.
TikTok boasts more than 170m US users and is a major cog in the multi-billion dollar creator and influencer economy.
The legal drama stems from the US government's national security concerns and TikTok's ties to China.
Last year, TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance was ordered to sell the app to a US buyer or it would be banned by 19 January - that sale has not yet happened.
Stick with us, we will bring you the latest news and analysis as it happens.
