What TikTok might look like to users in the U.S. and around the world if it goes dark

On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a ban on the social media platform TikTok. It's unclear whether the ban will go into effect, but the Chinese-owned platform is gearing up for Sunday, and Americans using the app may start to notice some changes.

The outgoing Biden administration has signaled it will allow U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who begins on Monday, to decide whether to enforce the ban. President Joe Biden signed the ban last year, citing national security concerns.

Under this law, TikTok cannot continue operating in the US unless it is sold. Trump has showed willingness to save the social media platform. His new national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said Thursday that Trump would intervene if the ban is upheld.

NBC News quoted a Biden official said that “Americans should not expect a sudden ban on TikTok on Sunday” and that the administration was looking for a way to implement the law without shutting down the app.

So what might TikTok's 170 million U.S. users see on Sunday when the ban goes into effect? While they won't be forced to remove the app, it could become increasingly useless, according to experts who spoke to CBC News.

Carmi Levy, a technology analyst in London, Ontario, expects “more of a fiasco than a Big Bang. The bottom line, however, is that if you live in the US, over time the experience will be much worse than it is now.” Now.”

Here's what can happen:

• Removal from app stores: The US will force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores so US users cannot download it. Lawmakers told the tech giants be prepared for such a move back in December and could fine them if they do not comply.
• App updates will stop: US users who already have the app will likely no longer be able to update it. This means that bugs and glitches won't be fixed and new features won't be added, making the TikTok experience increasingly frustrating.
• Hackers may gain popularity: Failure to update means there is no way to fix app security issues that could leave users vulnerable to hacking and cybersecurity breaches.
• Message from TikTok: If the ban is enforced, TikTok may display a message to US users who already own the app informing them of the regulations. It may also provide them with the opportunity to download their personal data.

Toronto cybersecurity expert Ritesh Kotak has a different hypothesis. He believes that TikTok users will be able to click on the app, “but the screen won't load. Maybe it'll just be a circle that will continue to scroll, but it will probably just be completely empty and that won't happen. be able to use the app at all.”

When India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese-made apps in 2020, the platform disappeared from the country's app stores, with a pop-up message informing users that the company was “complying with the Indian government's directive.”

How will US users bypass the ban?

What about workarounds? US users can still access the desktop version of the platform, but it has fewer features than the mobile app, if it works at all. Some suggest they will scroll through TikTok using a VPNa virtual private network, which is a tool that allows you to hide your digital location.

But it may not be as simple as it seems. TikTok likely has other ways to track a user's location, such as using geolocation data from the person's phone. The U.S. government will likely introduce a mechanism that will prevent access to IP addresses belonging to TikTok altogether, Kotak says.

Users who circumvent the ban and are caught could face financial penalties, but “we just don't know because we don't know what kind of penalty it will actually be,” he added.

What happens if 170 million users disappear?

Content creators recently told CBC News about TikTok's disappearance it can mean to them. What will TikTok feeds look like for Canadians and other users around the world when the 170 million U.S. users disappear?

“It's a global app with well over a billion users around the world. And they, too, will feel the effects because U.S. Tiktok users constitute a significant audience for many users around the world outside the United States,” Levy said.

“Suddenly, remaining users in other countries may find it no longer as valuable once all Americans disappear or find another app to use.”

There are many indications that TikTok, like other companies, is this way hope to build a friendly relationship with the incoming administration. According to reports, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will be present at Trump's meeting launch on January 20 with other technology executives.