TikTok announced it would shut down in the U.S. on Sunday unless President Joe Biden guarantees major tech companies immunity from penalties when a law banning TikTok takes effect. This move follows a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the ban due to national security concerns unless the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it. With approximately 170 million U.S. users, TikTok’s fate now hinges on incoming President Donald Trump’s response. While Biden’s administration indicated it would not enforce the ban, Trump has expressed intentions to support TikTok’s continuation, setting up a complex confrontation between legislative action and executive decisions.
TikTok said Friday that it will be suspended in the United States on Sunday unless Joe Biden guarantees companies like Apple and Google that it will not face law enforcement action when the ban goes into effect.
The statement comes as the popular short video app is expected to be shut down in just two days after the Supreme Court upholds a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it. It was announced a few hours later.
The court’s 9-0 ruling leaves the social media platform and its 170 million U.S. users in limbo, placing its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who vowed to save TikTok after returning to office on Monday. be.
“Unfortunately, TikTok will be forced to cease service on January 19 unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement that satisfies our most critical service providers and guarantees that there will be no enforcement action,” the company said in a statement. It will happen,” he said.
The White House declined to comment.
Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Oracle and others could face huge fines if they continue to provide services to TikTok after the ban goes into effect.
The law, passed by Congress with an overwhelming bipartisan majority last year and signed by Mr. Biden, is now gaining support from lawmakers who want TikTok to continue operating in the United States.
TikTok, ByteDance, and some of the app’s users challenged the law, but the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment’s protection against government abridgement of free speech, as they had argued. The court ruled that there was no violation.
TikTok announced on Friday that it would go dark in the United States on Sunday unless Joe Biden guarantees companies like Apple and Google that it will not face law enforcement action when the ban goes into effect.
The statement comes as the popular short video app is expected to be shut down in just two days after the Supreme Court upholds a law that would ban TikTok in the US on national security grounds unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. It was announced a few hours later.
ByteDance has done little to sell TikTok by the legal Sunday deadline. However, app shutdowns may be short-lived. President Trump, who tried to ban TikTok in 2020, said he would take action to save the app.
“My decision regarding TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I need time to review the situation. Stay tuned!’ President Trump said in a social media post.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to attend President Trump’s second inauguration in Washington on Monday.
President Trump said he discussed TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a phone call on Friday.
The court ruled Friday after TikTok argued that a law banning the popular video streaming app unless it sells violates users’ First Amendment rights.
“We conclude that the provisions at issue do not violate appellant’s First Amendment rights,” the country’s highest court said in a written decision, reaffirming the appeals court’s ruling.
Last year, TikTok, along with some users and creators, filed a lawsuit to block the ban. But their efforts were rejected by lower courts, leaving them with no choice but to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on Jan. 10 and indicated it would not interfere with the ban, which goes into effect Sunday.
Protesters outside the Supreme Court hear oral arguments on the ban on TikTok on January 10.
In a ruling on Friday, the country’s highest court noted that the provisions of the law in question are content-neutral and do not target specific speech, but the control of platforms by foreign adversaries. .
Some 170 million Americans use the video app, and some warned that banning the Chinese-owned app would disrupt the businesses and lives of millions of Americans.
The path forward will depend on how the incoming Trump administration responds. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will take a seat of honor alongside other technology leaders at President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Shortly after the decision, President Trump spoke to CNN about TikTok’s fate.See what I do because it will eventually go to me. ”
“Congress gave me the decision, so I’ll make the decision,” Trump said, without providing further details.
President Trump later wrote in a post on Truth Social that the decision was respected and “everyone must respect it.”
“My decision regarding TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I need time to review the situation,” he posted.
TikTok’s CEO posted a video message on the social media app in response to the decision, directly thanking President Trump and saying he was fighting to “protect his constitutional right to free speech.” insisted.
President-elect Trump held a press conference at Mar-a-Lago last month. He said he likes TikTok and that it helped him win the election. During his first term, Trump raised concerns about national security over TikTok’s data collection.
President-elect Trump posts after Supreme Court ruling banning TikTok
President Trump said on Friday that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, including about TikTok.
“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and our users across the United States, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution to keep TikTok available in the United States,” he said.
“This is a strong position in support of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” Chu added.
He said TikTok is “grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform.”
Following the decision, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the court’s decision “enables the Department of Justice to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine U.S. national security.” Ta.
He added that “authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to the sensitive data of millions of Americans.”
But even though the ban is scheduled to go into effect Sunday, President Biden has signaled he will not enforce it, leaving it to President Trump, who takes office on Monday.
“President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months since Congress sent the bill to the president’s desk in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion. TikTok should remain available to Americans. but should be provided solely under U.S. ownership or other ownership that addresses identified national security concerns.”We received Congressional assistance in developing this legislation.” the White House said in a statement Monday.
Outgoing spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre added: “Given the sheer facts of timing, the current administration recognizes that implementation of this law should be left to the next administration, which takes office on Monday.” .
During his first term, President Trump was among the first to voice concerns that TikTok was a national security threat. But then he did a complete 180 and changed his tune.
Last month, after winning the election, Trump met with TikTok’s CEO at his Mar-a-Lago mansion and expressed his desire to end the ban.
“Honestly, there’s a little bit of warmth in my heart,” Trump told reporters on the video streaming app.
He credits the app with helping him gain support from young people in the 2024 elections.
Before the decision, President Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay enforcement of the ban and considered an executive order to do so.
It’s not clear exactly what the app will look like when users try to use it after it was banned on Sunday.
App stores and internet hosting services have a strong incentive to comply with the ban and stop offering TikTok in the U.S. after January 19, as it could face hefty fines from the Department of Justice.
Mr. Trump could try to circumvent a ban on TikTok, but that would put him at odds with some of his Republican allies in Congress, as lawmakers overwhelmingly support passing the bill.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said the Supreme Court correctly rejected “TikTok’s lies and propaganda disguised as legal arguments.”
“ByteDance and its Chinese communists had nine months to sell TikTok by Sunday’s deadline. The very fact that communist China is refusing permission to sell TikTok It’s clearly a communist spy app,” Cotton wrote on X.