The Chinese-owned platform is set to be yanked from US app stores on January 19. That's unless it's tossed a last-minute life raft by the Supreme Court or President-elect Donald Trump, who has asked the court to pause an enforcement deadline.
The former scenario is looking increasingly unlikely, however, as legal experts tell Business Insider that the Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward upholding the divest-or-ban law.
If the app goes dark, US users will have to look elsewhere for a short-form video fix. TikTok's ethos and community are unique, but competing formats exist on the world's biggest social-media apps, and are also offered by emerging competitors.
Here's who is — and who's not — in the running.
Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have been competing in short-form video for years
Instagram Reels
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Data shows that new apps often struggle to gain long-term traction when they have well-established rivals. And Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have all been competing in the short-form space for years.
Snapchat, for its part, launched a TikTok counterpart called Spotlight in 2020, offering payouts to get creators to post.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn has more recently targeted TikTok by encouraging influencers to post short-form content. Some have told Business Insider that they've seen engagement boosts as a result.
TikTok sister app Lemon8 would likely get the ax, too
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TikTok sister app, Lemon8, has soared to the top of the app charts in recent weeks. Lemon8 is reminiscent of Pinterest and contains a mix of photos and videos.
However, given that the law specifically mentions ByteDance, the parent company of the two apps, Lemon8 would likely be banned along with TikTok.
Christopher Krepich, the communications director for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, previously told Forbes the bill would ban Lemon8 unless ByteDance divested.
Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, another Chinese social app — which functions like Instagram but with more commerce features — has recently surged in popularity. It could, however, also be subject to the same divest-or-ban law as TikTok if the US government chose to target it.
Triller has long positioned itself as a TikTok rival
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Triller has long sought to position itself as an alternative to TikTok — and currently offers a tool to help creators save their videos ahead of a potential ban.
Triller has gone through a series of strategy shifts over the years. After several false starts, it went public late last year through a reverse merger with a Hong Kong-based company called AGBA Group Holding Limited.
It recently hired former TikTok product head Sean Kim to run its video app, as well as several other subsidiaries.
It's not the only one in the space, however.Some of its competitors include Flip and Complex Shop, formerly known as NTWRK. Flip, which raised $144 million last April at a $1 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg, launched in 2019 and enables users to post short, shoppable reviews.
Whatnot also made headlines after closing a $265 million funding round earlier this month at a $5 billion valuation. The app hosts livestreams across categories like fashion, collectibles, and storage unit finds.
