In a landmark decision, the US Supreme Court has ruled that TikTok will be banned in the United States, effective this Sunday. This move marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tensions between the US government and the popular social media platform, which has faced intense scrutiny over concerns about data privacy, national security, and its ties to the Chinese government. As the clock ticks down to the impending ban, millions of American TikTok users are bracing for the impact, while lawmakers and experts weigh in on the far-reaching implications of this unprecedented decision.

TikTok is to be banned in the US from Sunday if it is not sold by its Chinese parent company, the Supreme Court has ruled.

However, President Joe Biden has said he will not enforce the ban for the few remaining hours he is in office, leaving it up to his successor Donald Trump to decide what to do when he enters the White House on Monday.

After the Supreme Court ruling, where the judges voted 9-0 in favour of the ban, the White House released a statement saying TikTok should remain available to Americans.

“TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” the White House said in a statement.

The US’s top judges were deciding whether to overturn the ban after hearing appeals from TikTok creators and its lawyers.

US officials banned the app over concerns its parent company could give data on American citizens to the Chinese government. TikTok’s owners’ Bytedance have repeatedly said they won’t sell the social media platform.

President-elect Donald Trump also tried to get the ban delayed so he could make a decision on it once he was in office.

However, the Supreme Court has decided to stick with the original ban.

Now, the social media app used by 170 million Americans will be banned a day before Mr Trump returns to the White House.

On Sunday, a few things could happen, especially now President Biden has said he will not enforce the ban.

There are reports TikTok will pull the plug for US users. When they attempt to open the app, people will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, Reuters has reported.

At a Supreme Court hearing last week, TikTok’s lawyer said the app would “go dark” in the US if the ban came into force.

Although there are a lot of American TikTok users, more than 1.5 billion people use TikTok worldwide, so the company could well decide it can manage without its US influencers.

If Mr Trump decides to enforce the ban, there could be a slow, painful death for TikTok in the US, where companies, including Apple and Google, take it off their app stores.

That will mean no new users can download the app, and there won’t be any updates.

The app will slowly get clunkier and buggier, and US creators will start to disappear.

Or, the president-elect will work out a way of stopping the ban coming into force.

Mr Trump gets into the White House the day after the ban begins.

He is now a big fan of TikTok with more than 14.8 million followers. He even credited the app with helping him win back the presidency.

He may try to undermine the ban, but he does not have the power to overturn it.

He could, however, say he won’t enforce it, and promise app store hosts such as Apple and Google they will not be prosecuted if they keep the app on their platforms.

Whether those major companies will want to take the risk of ignoring a legal ban is up for debate, however.

After the Supreme Court’s decision, Mr Trump said he would make a decision quickly on how to deal with TikTok but he “must have time to review the situation”.

US TikTokers have already started to migrate, with many heading to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, which topped the US App Store this week.

In just two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, according to Reuters.

“They’re trying to give a big middle finger to the establishment,” Chinese RedNote user William Wang told Sky News, after he watched the app flood with Americans using the hashtag #TikTokRefugees.

“They’re rebellious, they’re going to go on a very Chinese application, not just TikTok, an entirely Chinese ecosystem.”

For the users not heading to RedNote, the more traditional apps are waiting in the wings.