TikTok faces a potential shutdown in the United States by January 19 unless the Supreme Court intervenes during its January 10 hearing. The social media giant has formally warned that without legal relief, the platform—serving over 170 million monthly U.S. users—could cease operations just before the presidential inauguration.

Key impacts of the potential ban:

• Existing users can continue using already-installed apps
• No new downloads will be available
• Updates will cease
• Apple and Google must remove TikTok from their app stores

President-elect Trump has requested the Supreme Court delay the ban, citing foreign policy concerns. While Trump could issue a 90-day delay after January 19, Congress would need to verify substantial progress in ByteDance's divestment from TikTok.

Amid this legal uncertainty, TikTok's Los Angeles operations face additional challenges due to devastating wildfires:

• Culver City office remains closed through January 12
• Employees directed to work remotely or use sick leave
• Power outages affecting nearly four million people
• Many staff members without power or internet access

The company has designated January 8-12 as work-from-home days rather than time off, despite widespread infrastructure disruptions across the greater Los Angeles area impacting numerous TikTok employees.

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