Dark Sunday Plans by TikTok Unless Biden Steps In

TikTok’s services will go dark on Sunday without a commitment from the Biden administration that they will not penalize Apple, Google, or other service providers for supporting the app. It is uncertain whether TikTok will be available in the United States on Sunday, with the company saying that President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration must provide “definitive” assurances that it will not impose a ban.

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a statute that effectively bans TikTok in the United States until the app’s owner, ByteDance, sells it. With a sale unlikely to occur in the two days before the law went into effect (with ByteDance constantly stating that it would not sell), it appeared like TikTok would be removed from app stores on Sunday, January 19.

According to reports, it may potentially cease to function totally since US corporations will be prohibited from providing services that enable the app’s distribution, maintenance, or updating.

January 19 is also one day before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and the incoming president has urged the Supreme Court to postpone the ban so that he can “negotiate a resolution to save the platform.”

While the court did not agree to a stay, the Biden administration appeared to be willing to let Trump decide the fate of TikTok. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday that Biden’s position has not changed: “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress.” However, given the date, Jean-Pierre stated that “actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration.”

Similarly, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco of the Justice Department stated that “the next phase of this effort—implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19—will be a process that plays out over time.”

However, TikTok responded with its own statement, implying that this was insufficient for the firm and other service providers to continue supplying the TikTok app. In TikTok’s perspective, Biden and the DOJ “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans.”

The business stated: “Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers ensuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”

Following TikTok’s comments, Jean-Pierre dismissed the company’s announcement as “a stunt,” and stated that the administration sees “no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.”

This piece has been amended to include further comments from the White House, as well as reports that TikTok could be completely shut down in the United States, rather than simply deleted from app stores.

The statement indicates that TikTok’s American users, which the company claims number over 170 million, will be unable to access the service when they open the app or website on Sunday.

In reaction, the White House termed TikTok’s plan to shut down in the United States a “stunt” and stated that there is no need for TikTok or other companies to take any action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday, Jan. 20.

“We’ve seen TikTok’s most recent statement. “It’s a stunt,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated in a statement. “We have stated unequivocally that the next administration will be responsible for implementing this law. So TikTok and other companies should address any issues with them.”

TikTok published a statement after the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Friday to maintain a statute mandating service providers to stop supporting the app in the United States if parent company ByteDance fails to complete a “qualified divestiture” by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google, and Oracle may face severe penalties if they fail to comply with the law.

“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” the company said in a press release.

However, Biden’s term will finish on Monday, when President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term in the White House. Trump, who had earlier favoured a TikTok ban, later reversed his position. In December, Trump petitioned the Supreme Court to postpone the law’s implementation and give his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

In a Friday tweet on his social media app Truth Social, Trump said, “My decision on TikTok will be made in the near future, but I need time to examine the matter. Stay tuned!”

Earlier Friday, the Biden administration stated that TikTok “should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership.”

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” according to a statement.

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” according to a statement.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and his deputy, Lisa Monaco, stated in a press release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”