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TikTok Case Supreme Court Arguments Justices Likely to Uphold Law Possible Impact of Ban Who Could Buy TikTok? Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT TikTok Stars and Marketers Brace for App’s Disappearance This Month Billions in advertising flows through TikTok, which could be banned in the U.S. as soon as Jan. 19. Brands and creators are racing to prepare. Listen to this article · 6:53 min Learn more Share full article Many creators on TikTok are urging fans to follow them to alternate platforms if the app is banned. Credit… J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press By Sapna Maheshwari Jan. 9, 2025 The impending disappearance of TikTok, one of the most popular social media apps in the United States, has sent marketers, agencies and creators racing to embrace alternatives — even if they’re not entirely convinced that TikTok will in fact exit the United States this month. Marketers are shifting dollars to Instagram and amending their contracts with social media stars so they aren’t stuck paying for sponsored TikTok posts in the app’s absence. Creators are pleading with fans to follow them elsewhere while collecting their email addresses to connect on other platforms. And talent agents are telling TikTok stars to hit pause on buying a house or car for now. “I’m just hitting 30 million followers, and 10 days from now I might lose it all,” said Joe Mele, a 26-year-old TikTok star from Long Island who started posting jokes when he was a college freshman. “It’s a little scary.” TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is trying to overturn a law, signed by President Biden in April, that calls for ByteDance to sell the app to a non-Chinese company or face a ban in the United States on Jan. 19. TikTok has claimed a sale is impossible and challenged the law as unconstitutional. It will make its last legal argument in the case on Friday before the Supreme Court, after losing its case in a lower court. TikTok’s disappearance would upend the social media and marketing landscape, routing billions in advertising dollars to rival platforms like Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube and scattering its 170 million monthly U.S. users. TikTok, known for its video feed that quickly adjusts to users’ interests, has become a cultural juggernaut since 2020, giving rise to best-selling books, viral recipes, Billboard 100 hits and even a “Saturday Night Live” cast member. “This will either be the biggest headline-making nonevent in marketing history or the most shock to the system in the last decade,” said Craig Brommers, chief marketing officer of the retailer American Eagle Outfitters. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe . Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
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