TikTok has become a worldwide sensation, with over 170 million users in the United States and billions of videos seen daily. Still, the future holds a looming possibility of a nationwide ban. So for millions of users, TikTok isn’t just an app, it is a community that offers creativity and freedom of speech among Americans, so what happens when that gets taken away?

To start, many Americans are familiar with the previous attempts to ban TikTok, believing that it’s due to concerns about the app’s ties to the Chinese government. President-elect Donald Trump requested time to settle the issue, but it seems unlikely that the Supreme Court will rule that the sale-or-ban law is unconstitutional. ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok must either sell the app to a U.S. company or cease operations in the country by January 19th per the law passed last year. If a sale is in progress, the deadline could be extended by 100 days. In addition, many Americans are wondering why this attempt is more serious than any other. This is because this recent attempt is supported by laws such as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, with bipartisan backing signed by President Joe Biden in 2024. So Congress says this law is necessary because of ByteDance’s ability to harvest vast amounts of personal information from American users, which poses a national security threat. However, users counter that a ban violates free speech and creates a dangerous precedent. 

Now, what would happen if the app gets banned? TikTok will not disappear from your phone, and you will not get in trouble for logging in. Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, stated, “I think the biggest obvious result of this law going into effect is that it’s going to require more technical savvy to access TikTok.” “And that in and of itself is going to be too big of a barrier for lots of people to continue to access TikTok.” On January 19th, users may open the app with a prompt stating the service is no longer available, or it will still be accessible with a slow and buggy operation. 

If TikTok were to be banned many users are communicating on the app to share which platforms to turn to. Popular options include Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and the new uprising apps of RedNote and Lemon8. Though many believe that Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts will never fill the void of TikTok, users are now creating a mass download of RedNote and Lemon8 as a form of protest for the TikTok ban, as these two apps are specifically Chinese-owned. Besides these apps, a virtual private network (VPN) is one of the most discussed workarounds. It hides users’ location information and gives the impression that they are accessing content from a different country. In nations with strict internet restrictions, they are frequently used to gain access to social media sites, streaming services, and other geographically limited content.    

TikTok has revolutionized online culture by transforming it into a center for community, education, and innovation. Compared to other social media platforms, it has changed how users consume content, giving the app its reputation for amplifying minority viewpoints. Beyond entertainment, TikTok is a place where businesses flourish, political movements grow, and trends are created. In addition to upsetting its cultural environment, American users believe that banning the app will create a gap in the social media industry that no other platform could fill.