TikTok said on Friday that it will go dark in the US on Sunday unless Joe Biden gives companies like Apple and Google assurances that it will not face enforcement action if a ban takes effect.
The statement came hours after the Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it, putting the popular short video app on the verge of disappearing in just two days.
The court’s 9-0 decision puts the social media platform – and its 170 million US users – in limbo, and its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who has vowed to save TikTok after returning to the presidency on Monday .
“Unless the Biden administration immediately makes a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers and ensure non-enforcement, TikTok will unfortunately be forced to go down on January 19,” the company said.
The White House declined to comment.
Apple, Google, Oracle and others from Alphabet could face huge fines if they continue to provide services to TikTok after the ban takes effect.
The law was passed by an overwhelming majority of both parties in Congress last year and signed by Biden, although a growing chorus of lawmakers who voted for it are now trying to keep TikTok active in the United States.
TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users challenged the law, but the Supreme Court ruled that it did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections against government abridgement of free speech, as they had argued .
TikTok said on Friday it will go dark in the US on Sunday unless Joe Biden gives companies like Apple and Google assurances that it will not face enforcement action if a ban takes effect
ByteDance has done little to divest TikTok by Sunday’s regulatory deadline. But closing the app may be short-lived. Trump, who had tried to ban TikTok in 2020, has said he plans to take action to save the app.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need time to assess the situation. Stay tuned!’ Trump said this in a post on social media.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend Trump’s second inauguration in Washington on Monday.
Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed TikTok in a phone call on Friday.