Rumors are running wild regarding TikTok allegedly being banned and replaced with ByteDance’s Lemon8.

Is TikTok Getting Banned?

January 9, 2025 – The popular social media app TikTok is at risk of being banned in the U.S. and will face the Supreme Court on the 10th of January, 2025.

One of the most popular social media apps worldwide, TikTok is facing adversity in the U.S. and is at risk of being banned.

In April of 2024, President Joe Biden forced ByteDance, owner of TikTok, to find a U.S. buyer for the social media app or face a nationwide ban. As reported in Quartz, the reason for this was because TikTok, a Chinese-owned app, posed a potential threat to the U.S.’s national security.

Refusing to sell, ByteDance will face the Supreme Court this Friday the 10th of January to argue against TikTok’s ban. During these uncertain times for TikTok, a new app has found a boost in popularity: Lemon8.

@lemon8us Instagram

What is Lemon8 

Deemed TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8 has seen a huge increase in downloads as the potential ban inches closer. Also developed by ByteDance, it runs on the same algorithm as TikTok and has been “misleadingly promoted as a post-TikTok ban refuge”, reports Morning Brew. Here, users can log in to Lemon8 using their TikTok accounts, making an easy transition.

But, the truth is, Lemon8 will not be able to replace TikTok after the potential ban. As Forbes has reported, Lemon8 will reportedly also be banned if ByteDance loses its case against the Supreme Court.

Still, TikTok holds out hope to remain unbanned, saying “There are millions of reasons to #KeepTikTok in the US” on Instagram.

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Published by HOLR Magazine

Image Credit: @tiktok Instagram, @lemon8us Instagram