The company is awaiting a decision over the constitutionality of a new law that aims to force a sale of the app to a non-Chinese owner under the threat of a ban.

TikTok plans to keep paying U.S. employees even if the Supreme Court does not overturn a law that would force the sale of the short-video app in the U.S. or ban it, the company's leadership said in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

As TikTok challenges its ban, it's hard to ignore the fact that the social media platform could very well be gone on Sunday. Currently, the TikTok ban is set for Jan. 19. On that date, it'll likely become unavailable for new users to download,

TikTok may be banned in the U.S. over the weekend, but Americans are heading to another Chinese-owned video platform: RedNote.

Among all free iPhone apps, RedNote is currently the top social networking app on the Apple app store rankings. Young people who have used it as an alternative to TikTok are finding humor in being called "TikTok refugees" by Chinese influencers who welcome them to the platform.

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese social media app RedNote has been thrust into the limelight after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform in protest against a likely imminent ban on the short video app in the United States.