Los Angeles (TDI): TikTok warned late on Friday it will go dark in the US on Sunday (tomorrow) unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect.
The statement came hours after the supreme court upheld a law banning TikTok in the country on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it, putting the popular social media app on track to go dark in just two days.
The court’s 9-0 ruling throws the social media platform — and its 170 million US users — into limbo, and its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who has pledged to rescue TikTok after returning to the presidency on Monday.
“Unless the Biden government immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the company stated.
Also Read: Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay TikTok Ban
Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Oracle and other companies could face harsh fines if they continue to provide services to TikTok after the ban takes effect.
The law was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress in 2024 and inked by Biden, though a growing chorus of legislators who voted for it are now seeking to keep TikTok operating in the US.
Also Read: Trump Supports Delaying TikTok Ban
TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users challenged the legislation, but the apex court decided that it did not violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech as they had argued.
