Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
TikTok Says Employees Will Have Jobs Even if Ban Takes Effect
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 3 weeks ago on
January 15, 2025

Tiktok’s headquarters in Culver City, Calif., Sept. 8, 2020. TikTok on Jan. 14, 2025 sought to assure its U.S. employees that they will still have jobs next week even if the Supreme Court upholds a law that would see the video app banned in the United States. (Rozette Rago/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

TikTok on Tuesday sought to assure its U.S. employees that they will still have jobs next week even if the Supreme Court upholds a law that would see the video app banned in the United States on Sunday.

The message is a shift in tone from TikTok, which has otherwise said it was confident that it would emerge victorious from its legal challenge to the law. It also shows the company is not planning to leave the United States in the near term, even if it is banned.

TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is fighting a law from last year that would ban the app unless its U.S. operations are sold to a non-Chinese owner. TikTok sent a message to its staff Tuesday acknowledging the uncertainty around the coming decision and assuring employees that they would continue to be paid. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision before the law takes effect Sunday.

“Your employment, pay and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation hasn’t been resolved before the January 19 deadline,” wrote Nicky Raghavan, TikTok’s global head of human resources, in the message, which was obtained by The New York Times. “The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the U.S. user experience.”

Law Penalizes App Stores, Internet Hosting Services

The law will penalize app stores and internet hosting services for distributing or updating the TikTok app, effectively banning the platform. It would not force the closure of TikTok offices in the United States.

The message also noted: “Our leadership team remains laser focused on planning for various scenarios and continuing to plan the way forward.”

The note, which praised employees for their “resilience and dedication,” was one of the company’s few internal acknowledgments of its legal battle in recent months. Despite the existential threat facing TikTok, there has been little acknowledgment inside the company that it might soon be banned in the United States, former employees told The New York Times in November. Executives have, at times, made light of the situation, suggesting in one all-hands meeting that it would one day be the subject of a Hollywood film, some of them said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to an inquiry about its latest staff count in the United States, but the message was sent to an internal “U.S. Team News” channel with more than 13,000 employees. TikTok has previously said it has more than 7,000 U.S. employees.

“As we await the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of January 19, we know you have a lot of questions and wish we could provide a clear road map of next steps,” Raghavan wrote. “We know it’s unsettling to not know exactly what happens next.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Sapna Maheshwari/Rozette Rago
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

DON'T MISS

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

DON'T MISS

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

DON'T MISS

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

DON'T MISS

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

DON'T MISS

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

DON'T MISS

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

DON'T MISS

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

DON'T MISS

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

UP NEXT

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

UP NEXT

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

UP NEXT

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

UP NEXT

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

UP NEXT

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

UP NEXT

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

UP NEXT

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

UP NEXT

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

UP NEXT

Live Poultry Markets Ordered Shut in New York City Due to Avian Flu Outbreak

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

50 minutes ago

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

53 minutes ago

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

56 minutes ago

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

2 hours ago

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

2 hours ago

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

2 hours ago

Live Poultry Markets Ordered Shut in New York City Due to Avian Flu Outbreak

2 hours ago

Drink and Drive? Your Super Bowl Could Be Spent in Fresno Jail

2 hours ago

US Employers Added 143,000 Jobs in January Hiring, Jobless Rate Fell to 4%

2 hours ago

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

Jose Leon Barraza and Brandon Vang have similar stories, emanating from opposite sides of the world. Both immigrated to America, seeking a b...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

43 minutes ago

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

46 minutes ago

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

50 minutes ago

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

53 minutes ago

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

56 minutes ago

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

The city of Nome, Alaska, awaits the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race musher Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Ryan Redington won the race. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend