Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
TikTok has said it will be forced to “go black” in the US on Sunday unless the government intervenes before the ban begins.
In a statement, it said that “the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide clarity and assurance to service providers that is necessary to maintain the presence of TikTok”.
It added that unless the government intervened immediately to ensure the television program would not be penalized for violating the upcoming law, it “will be forced to go dark on January 19”.
TikTok’s statement follows a Supreme Court ruling on Friday that upheld a ban on the app in the US unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday.
TikTok has opposed the law, saying it violates the privacy of its 170 million users in the country.
But the decision of the Supreme Court means that the US version of the program will be removed from the software stores and online services, unless a buyer is found in the coming days.
It was thought that the ban would not affect TikTok users who have already downloaded the app on their phones.
But a new statement from TikTok late Friday suggests that it will be available to both existing and prospective downloaders.
President Joe Biden’s term is set to end on Monday, while Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the next president on that day. The White House previously said it would fall to the incoming president to enforce the rules.
Trump has indicated his opposition to the ban, after previously supporting the move. “My opinion on TikTok will be made soon, but I need to have time to evaluate the situation,” he said on Friday.
ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and said it plans to shut down the app’s US operations on Sunday unless there is a refund.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to ban the video-sharing app last year, over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly said it does not share information with Beijing.
