The TikTok Ban, otherwise known as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications” Act, was signed into law on April 24, 2024 by President Joe Biden and is set to take effect this Sunday, January 19th. 

Though American entrepreneurs are challenging the law’s constitutionality in the Supreme Court, the Justices remain divided. With a day and a half left for SCOTUS to make a decision and Senator Markey’s bill to extend the TikTok ban by another 270 days for deliberation dying on the Senate floor yesterday, it is unclear if TikTok will be able to avoid, as their CEO put it, “going dark.”

Unfortunately, that means that even though TikTok will continue to exist globally, it won’t be the same for us here in the US. TikTok will most likely still be accessible for current users but software updates to the application won’t be permitted, which means over time, the app will become buggier and slower, making it eventually unusable. The app will also no longer appear in app stores, so it will not be available to download for new users.

If you don’t want to lose your data, here is what to do to mitigate the impact of the ban:  

1. Download all assets from TikTok

To do that,

• Open TikTok on a desktop’s browser
• Log in
• Click on settings
• Scroll down until you find the “Data” section
• Select what data you want to download 
• Request data in JSON format
• Put the downloaded file into ChatGPT and ask it to reorganize it in a readable way Download the Excel file it generates
• Click on the links inside the file to automatically open and download the video from there

As noted by TikTok, please be aware that the request may take a few days to process. Once completed, you will only have four days to download your file. Do not request another download before completing your first one, as this could cause the original file to expire.

2. Communicate to your audience where else they can find you and encourage them to follow you on the other platforms before the ban’s effective date.

3. Lastly, if you have contracts with influencers, review and revise them so that they fit whichever platform they are replacing TikTok with. 

For more information on BoardroomPR’s social media services, please visit https://boardroompr.com/services/social-media/.

Co-authored by Raphaella – our amazing intern!

Ashley Kearns

Social Media Director