TikTok is planning to shut down its U.S. app on Sunday, and people who already have the app won't be able to use it

The context: Under the plan, even people who have already downloaded the app won't be able to keep using it, according to people familiar with the matter.

Users will instead see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. However, TikTok will allow users to download all their data, according to the report.

While the law does not require TikTok to turn off the app, it does force app store operators to stop making TikTok available for download and the company’s cloud provider Oracle to stop hosting the app’s US user data.

TikTok will be banned in the US on 19 January unless it separates from its Chinese parent ByteDance.

Over the weekend, the US Supreme Court heard arguments over the law that requires ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials were weighing up a potential option that involved Elon Must acquiring TikTok’s US operations if the company failed in overturning the ban.