Following the signing of a new law by President Biden, TikTok has a deadline to be sold by early 2025. However, many users are wondering if it will be shut down or banned in the United States in 2024. Here’s all you need to know.
Is TikTok shutting down in the US in 2024?
TikTok is not shutting down in the US yet, but reports suggest that its current owner would prefer to shut it down rather than sell it.
While several parties have shown interest in buying TikTok, its parent company ByteDance could choose to shut down the short video app for good.
At the time of writing, the parent company is supposed to sell TikTok by January 24, 2025. It can get a three-month extension if the sale to an American buyer is in process. Failing to meet the deadline would mean facing an immediate ban in the U.S. in 2025.
But, as per four sources close to Reuters, TikTok is a loss-making app for ByteDance. It only accounts for a small share of the parent’s daily active users and total revenues. Shutting the app down would only have a limited impact on its business.
So, the company would want to protect the core algorithm that TikTok runs on from falling into the hands of a potential American buyer. The algorithm is also one of the main reasons why people have offered to buy TikTok over the years.
After President Biden signed the TikTok ban bill that put a deadline on ByteDance, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to it in the following video:
Chew confirmed that TikTok is not going away. He also stated that it will continue to fight for its users’ rights to freedom of speech. The app is expected to sue to stop the ban. But if all legal options are exhausted, ByteDance would likely choose to shut down the app in the U.S. rather than sell it along with its algorithm.
