The ongoing move by TikTok aims to shut down its social media operation and app for US users which is used by 170 million Americans, on Sunday, when a federal ban on the social media app may go into force, unless the Supreme Court intervenes, according to sources familiar with the situation said Wednesday.
Existing TikTok users would be legally permitted to continue using the app, but it would eventually become unusable because app shops and internet hosting firms would be prevented from giving updates, unless there is a last-minute reprieve, according to reports.
TikTok did not immediately respond to an Al Jazeera request for comment.
The shutdown would result in a different conclusion than what the law intended. The regulation would prohibit new TikTok downloads from the Apple or Google app stores, but existing users would be able to continue using the app for some time.
TikTok users attempting to access the TikTok app would receive a pop-up message directing them to a webpage with details about the ban, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous since the subject is private.
The publication did not explain how Trump might lawfully do so. However, the regulation, approved in April, prohibits new TikTok downloads from Apple or Google app stores unless Chinese parent company Byte-Dance divests the service.
According to the company, they also intend to provide consumers with the option of downloading all of their data in order to keep track of their personal information.
TikTok and its Chinese parent, ByteDance, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ inquiries for comment. The Information was the first to report the news.
ByteDance is privately held, with institutional investors such as Blackrock and General Atlantic owning approximately 60% and its founders and staff owning 20% apiece. It has over 7,000 employees in the United States.
According to the Washington Post, In April, the outgoing US President-elect Joe Biden, signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, and this gave Chinese parent company ByteDance 270 days to divest its holdings in the United States by January 19, 2025 to sell the platform or face a ban. Biden also signed the law amid bipartisan fears that the platform could be used to collect Americans’ personal information and influence public discourse.
Also according to the Washington Post, the incoming President-elect Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order to freeze the ban for 60 to 90 days to allow time to negotiate a sale or alternative agreement.
Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, promised to “save” the platform during his re-election campaign, despite attempting to ban the app himself during his first time in office.
TikTok and ByteDance have sought, at the very least, a suspension in the law’s implementation, claiming that it breaches the First Amendment’s guarantee against government censorship of free speech.
TikTok estimated in a court filing last month that one-third of the 170 million Americans who use its app would stop using it if the ban lasted a month.
The reports come as the US Supreme Court considers the validity of the ban.
The Trump transition team did not provide a quick response. Trump has stated that he should have time after assuming office to explore a “political resolution” to the issue. “TikTok itself is a fantastic platform,” Trump’s new national security advisor, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Wednesday. “We’re going to find a way to preserve it but protect people’s data.”
The nine-member court looks to be leaning toward preserving the statute, after a majority of justices last week expressed doubts about TikTok’s claim that the prohibition violates Americans’ free expression rights.
According to the New York Times, TikTok’s CEO has been invited to attend the president-elect’s inauguration and sit in “a position of honor”.
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