TikTok confirmed it plans to go dark Sunday unless it gets more clarity from the Biden administration and the Department of Justice about the ban, which is scheduled to go into effect that day.
“The statement issued today by President Biden and the Department of Justice fails to provide the clarity and assurances needed by essential service providers to make TikTok available to more than 170 million Americans.” said in an article Friday night. Post to X.
“Unfortunately, TikTok will be forced to cease service on January 19th unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a final statement that satisfies the most critical service providers that guarantee against illegal enforcement,” the statement read. continued.
President Joe Biden signed a law in April requiring TikTok to strip it of its Chinese ownership and sell it to a U.S. company or face closure.
Congress passed the bill last year with strong bipartisan support, with many of those who voted for it citing data and national security concerns due to involvement in Chinese apps. Ta. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in China.
This week, some U.S. lawmakers suggested they wanted to delay the ban to give the apps time to find U.S. buyers.
The Supreme Court upheld the law in a ruling issued Friday, saying, “TikTok’s size and vulnerability to foreign enemy control, as well as the vast amount of sensitive data the platform collects, does not address the government’s national security concerns.” This justifies discriminatory treatment for the purpose of doing so.”
NBC News previously reported that the app was preparing to “go dark” as a last resort.
The outgoing Biden administration announced Friday that it would leave enforcement of the TikTok ban in the hands of the Trump administration.
On Friday, TikTok CEO Hsu Chu thanked President-elect Donald Trump for supporting the company’s efforts to remain available to U.S. users.
President Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok during his first term as president. He has since changed his tune and used the app to reach a younger audience during his 2024 candidacy.
Mr. Chu has been invited by the president-elect’s team to Monday’s inauguration ceremony and is expected to attend and sit with other technology executives.
“The Supreme Court’s decision was expected and everyone must respect it. My decision regarding TikTok will be made in the not too distant future,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. We will do so, but we will need time to review the situation.
Savannah Sellers, Ben Goggin and Kat Tenbarge contributed.