TikTok says it will go dark Sunday unless Biden admin assures service providers they won’t be punished

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 – TikTok warned late Friday it will go dark in the United States on Sunday 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 United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it, putting the popular short-video app on track to go dark in just two days.

The court’s 9-0 decision throws the social media platform – and its 170 million American users – into limbo, and its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who has vowed to rescue TikTok after returning to the presidency on Monday.

A mock funeral was held for TikTok in New York City on Friday after the Supreme Court upheld the app’s forced sale. Getty Images

“Unless the Biden Administration 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 said.

The White House declined to comment.

Apple, Alphabet, Google, Oracle and others could face massive 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 last year and signed by Biden, though a growing chorus of lawmakers who voted for it are now seeking to keep TikTok operating in the United States.

TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users challenged the law, but the Supreme Court decided that it did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech as they had argued.

The app wants assurances that service providers will not be penalized if the app is still functioning past Sunday. AP

ByteDance has done little to divest of TikTok by the Sunday deadline set under the law. But the app’s shutdown might be brief. Trump, who in 2020 had tried to ban TikTok, 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 must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump said in a social media post.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend Trump’s second inauguration on Monday in Washington.

Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed TikTok in a phone call on Friday.