The app will reportedly be shut down in the US on Sunday when the ban takes effect

TikTok is reportedly preparing to close its popular short-video app to hundreds of millions of users in the U.S. if a federal ban goes into effect on Sunday.

Sunday is the deadline for TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets or allow the app to be banned nationwide unless the Supreme Court blocks it. But while such a ban would effectively remove TikTok from app stores, TikTok appears to have other plans that aren’t strictly required by law.

If the federal ban on the app goes into effect as planned, TikTok appears poised to shut down the social media app in the United States, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Information first reported the news.

The revelation comes after the U.S. Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold a law that President Joe Biden signed last spring on national security grounds — despite President-elect Donald Trump and some lawmakers seeking an extension of the Jan. 19 deadline advocate.

Here’s what you should know about the ban and what would happen under TikTok’s reported plan.

What would happen to the TikTok app on smartphones?

Under TikTok’s plan, people who try to open the app will see a pop-up message that directs them to a website with information about the ban, Reuters reported, citing sources who requested anonymity discussing the matter is not public.

The company also plans to give users the ability to download all of their data so they can record their personal information, they said.

USA TODAY reached out to TikTok on Wednesday for details of the reported plan, which differs from what would be required by law.

According to the law, a TikTok ban would basically mean that new downloads in app stores such as Apple and Google would no longer be possible. While existing users would still be able to access and use the app, they would not be able to update the app, which would likely degrade and stop working over time.

Trump and other lawmakers oppose TikTok ban deadline

Some lawmakers are calling on President Biden and the U.S. Supreme Court to take action to prevent TikTok from being banned on Sunday

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Monday he plans to introduce legislation to delay by another 270 days the Jan. 19 deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban.

“TikTok creators and users across the country are understandably alarmed. They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated,” Markey said in a statement. “These communities cannot be replicated on another app. A ban would destroy a unique information and cultural ecosystem while silencing millions of people.”

Markey has also joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. by filing a bipartisan brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s decision upholding a TikTok ban. In the letter, the lawmakers argued that “there are less drastic measures that could effectively address data security issues without violating constitutional rights.”

“A ban on TikTok not only violates the free expression of millions of Americans, but also threatens the livelihoods of creators and small business owners who use the app,” Khanna said in a statement. “We need laws to protect Americans’ data. But banning TikTok is not the solution.”

Trump has also asked the Supreme Court to push back the deadline to give his administration time to pursue a political solution after he takes office on January 20.

What would happen to TikTok employees in the US?

Despite TikTok’s looming ban and plans to shut down the app, the jobs of 7,000 U.S. employees appear to be safe.

TikTok plans to continue paying U.S. workers even if the Supreme Court fails to strike down a law that would force sales of the app in the U.S., according to an internal management memo reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

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