American content creators on TikTok appear to be looking for alternatives as some have asked followers to subscribe to their channels on rival platforms like Instagram and YouTube after a federal appeals court ruled that the social media app could be banned if it is not sold to a U.S.-based company by Jan. 19, Reuters reported on Saturday.
TikTok has become a major U.S. digital force as it has grown to 170 million U.S. users, especially younger people drawn to its short, often irreverent videos.
It has sucked away advertisers from some of the largest U.S. players and added commerce platform TikTok Shop, which has become a marketplace for small businesses.
The U.S. Congress, fearing TikTok's Chinese owners are gathering information about American consumers, has passed a law requiring its owner, Chinese-backed ByteDance, to divest its TikTok in the U.S. or face a ban.
On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld the law. A panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that the law withstood constitutional scrutiny, rebuffing arguments from the two companies that the statute violated their rights and the rights of TikTok users in the U.S.
The government has said it wants ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to divest its stakes. But if it doesn't and the platform goes away, it would have a seismic impact on the lives of content creators who rely on the platform for income as well as users who use it for entertainment and connection.
Threats by politicians and others to TikTok have been building for years, leading some users to brush off recent threats. That appeared to change on Friday, with the prospect of a ban in just six weeks. A Supreme Court appeal is still possible.
"For the first time I'm realizing that a lot of what I worked for could disappear," Chris Mowrey, a Democratic social media influencer with 470,000 TikTok followers, told Reuters.
"I don't think it's been talked about enough how damaging it will be from an economic standpoint for small businesses and creators."
On the app, both viewers and content creators voiced concerns and confusion, many saying they doubted the platform would survive, and that they were prepared for the worst.
Chris Burkett, a content creator on TikTok with 1.3 million people following his men's lifestyle videos, said he did not think the platform would last.
"I don't think there's longevity on this app in the United States," he said in a video post, asking his audience to follow him on other social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, X and Threads.
"We've put so many years and so much time into building our community here," said food travel content creator SnipingForDom, who has 898,000 followers on the app. While he did not think the end was near for TikTok, he still told followers to reach out to him on his Instagram page.
Others were also awaiting more information. Sarah Jannetti, a TikTok Shop consultant, said her clients are not worried about a potential TikTok ban and will not shift their businesses "until they see something that's more concrete."
TikTok and ByteDance are expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether the court will take up the case, the Associated Press (AP) report said.
TikTok indicated in a statement on Friday the two companies are preparing to take their case to high court, saying the Supreme Court has "an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech."
"We expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," a company spokesperson said.
Alan Morrison, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, said he expects the Supreme Court to take up the case because of the novelty of the issues raised in the lawsuit.
If that happens, attorneys for the two companies still have to convince the court to grant them an emergency stay that will prevent the government from enforcing the Jan. 19 divestiture deadline stipulated in the law, Morrison said.
Such a move could drag out the process until the Justices make a ruling.
Tiffany Cianci, a TikTok content creator who has supported the platform, said she was not shocked about the outcome of the court's ruling on Friday because lower courts typically defer to the executive branch on these types of cases. She believes the company will have a stronger case at the Supreme Court.
"I believe that the next stages are more likely to produce a victory for TikTokers and for TikTok as a whole," Cianci said.
Another wild card is President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the recent presidential campaign that he is now against such action.
