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.

TikTok is expected to be shut down on Sunday for everyone in the US. Right now, the only way that TikTok survives is if the Supreme Court blocks the federal law that would ban the social media platform.

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.

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

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.

Americans are going to lose access to TikTok in less than a week, unless China green-lights a sale to what Congress has deemed a non-adversary of the United States — something China is unlikely to do but might.

The future of TikTok hangs in the balance this week as the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) prepares to issue a verdict on banning the platform. For months, speculation has been rising about what will become of the popular content creation app that has launched many viral videos and created entire careers.