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

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban of social media platform TikTok on Friday. Whether the ban will be enforced is still up in the air, but the Chinese-owned platform is preparing to go dark on Sunday — and Americans who use the app might start to notice some changes.

The outgoing Biden administration has signalled that it will let U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, make a decision about enforcing the ban. President Joe Biden signed the ban into law last year, citing national security concerns.

Under that law, TikTok can't continue operation in the U.S. unless it is sold. Trump has demonstrated a willingness to save the social media platform. His incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Thursday that Trump would intervene if the ban is upheld.

NBC News quoted a 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.

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

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:

• 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 might show U.S. users who already have the app a message that informs them of the law. It might 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."

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

WATCH | Poilievre says he'll be following the U.S. decision on a TikTok ban 'very closely': 

Poilievre says he’ll be watching U.S. TikTok ban decision very closely

1 day ago

Duration 0:49

During a news conference in Delta, B.C., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he previously ordered Conservative MPs, senators and staff to stop using the TikTok social media app because it risks espionage, infiltration and manipulation by what he called the hostile regime in Beijing. Poilievre added he didn’t have anything to announce right now about it.

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

What about workarounds? U.S. users might still be able to access a desktop version of the platform, but that has fewer features than the mobile app, if it will work at all. Some have suggested that they'll scroll through TikTok using a VPN, or 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."

There are signs that TikTok, like other companies, is hoping to build a friendly relationship with the incoming administration. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will reportedly attend Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 alongside other tech executives.

WATCH | Content creator says it might be time to think about a Plan B: 

TikTok creator says potential ban will hurt small businesses most | Canada Tonight

7 days ago

Duration 6:21

Supreme Court justices on Friday probed the nature of TikTok's speech rights and the government's concerns over national security. Joanne Molinaro, U.S. full-time TikTok content creator, says to ‘single out TikTok seems arbitrary,’ adding that the potential ban is going to ‘hit the bottom line’ of small business and creators.