What is the fate of the platform? We know that

The Supreme Court heard arguments on the ban last week but has not yet made a decision.
If the ban goes into effect, TikTok will be illegal to distribute in the US and existing users will lose functionality over time.
The app could survive, among other things, if ByteDance sells its US operations.

TikTok will soon be unavailable to 170 million American users, barring an 11th hour development.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has until Sunday to sell the platform under a federal law signed by President Joe Biden last spring. If the Beijing-based company fails to do so, TikTok will be banned in the United States, making it illegal for U.S. internet hosting services and app stores to distribute the platform. The legislation comes amid concerns from some government officials who believe the platform poses a threat to national security because ByteDance could share US user data with the Chinese government.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week from TikTok, which claims the ban is an unconstitutional violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights. The platform called on the Supreme Court to stop the ban. As of Thursday morning, SCOTUS had not released a decision.

President-elect Donald Trump will take office on Monday, January 20, one day after the ban was implemented. Although Trump had previously supported a ban on the platform, he called on SCOTUS last month to push back the deadline to allow his new administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the issues at issue in this case.”

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Trump is considering an executive order that would suspend the ban for 60 to 90 days, and USA TODAY reviewed the report.

As we inch ever closer to the ban, here’s what you should know about the situation, what impact it will have on users, and who has expressed interest in purchasing the platform.

Will TikTok close the platform on Sunday?

After the Supreme Court hearing last week, it seems like TikTok is preparing to shut down the platform on Sunday itself, according to multiple reports. Remarks about TikTok’s intentions were first shared by the company on Friday.

What will determine the Supreme Court’s decision?

If the Supreme Court upholds existing legislation, ByteDance will have until Sunday to divest TikTok’s American assets.

During last week’s hearing, Justice Samuel Alito asked whether the court could temporarily block or administratively stop the law.

U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the ban for the Biden administration, advised against a temporary ban unless TikTok was likely to win on its First Amendment claim to a right to distribute its content. As for an administrative stay, Prelogar said she would let the judges decide whether they had enough time to decide the case.

When will the Supreme Court make its decision?

The Supreme Court could publish its decision at any time. The court does not have to publish a decision by a specific date.

How would the ban affect users?

When TikTok’s ban goes into effect on Sunday, it will become illegal for U.S. internet hosting services and app stores to distribute the platform.

TikTok users who have already downloaded the app on mobile devices will still have access to it, but will not be able to update the app, which will likely become unusable over time. The TikTok website will not be available on US-based internet hosting services.

Is there a way to get around the ban?

How exactly the ban will be implemented is uncertain, but content creators are using this time to educate other users about virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow online users to mask their location. If a user uses a VPN to set their location outside of the US, they could theoretically access TikTok.

However, there are some cases where VPNs won’t work, Dan York, a senior adviser at the Internet Society, previously told USA TODAY. Popular VPNs could be blocked and using locations abroad would result in slower or unreliable connections.

York advises users to do thorough research before using VPNs, as there are malicious companies that may want to take advantage of users looking to use a VPN for the first time.

Who is interested in buying TikTok?

Over the past month, several people and organizations have expressed interest in purchasing the platform.

Notably, Project Liberty, an organization led by billionaire Frank McCourt, announced last week that it had made a formal offer to ByteDance to purchase TikTok’s US assets. Tomicah Tillemann, president of Project Liberty, said in a statement that the organization would not publicly disclose the offering amount.

McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that Project Liberty had received verbal commitments of up to $20 billion for the purchase. “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary announced last week that he would be joining Project Liberty as part of the purchase plan.

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