TikTok has announced it will be forced to cease operations in the United States starting Sunday unless the government takes action to prevent an impending ban.
Late Friday, TikTok released a statement in which it blasted the Trump administration and the DOJ for not giving service providers the assurances and clarity they needed to keep the app running.
If the government does not step in, TikTok will be forced to halt its services in the US on January 19 in order to avoid penalties imposed under the ban.
To avoid a worldwide ban, ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok located in China, must sell its U.S. operations to an impartial party by Sunday, as mandated by a statute that the Supreme Court upheld on Friday.
Concerned about national security and data privacy, the legislation, which was passed in April of last year, mandates that ByteDance disengage from TikTok’s U.S. operations. The 170 million American users of TikTok were saying that the law infringes their First Amendment rights, therefore the company challenged it.
If ByteDance does not find a buyer by the deadline, the software will be deleted from app stores and hosting services according to the Supreme Court’s judgement.
At first, it was thought that the restriction would merely apply to new app downloads, leaving current users unaffected. Nevertheless, according to TikTok’s most recent announcement, the platform could suddenly become unavailable to all users.
ALSO READ: Businessman Matongo Faces Legal Heat Over US$100K Trust Property Theft
If updates are disabled, users who have the app loaded will see its functionality deteriorate over time.
Creators and influencers on TikTok have started sending out farewell notes to their fans as the ban approaches. Erika Thompson brought attention to the loss of important educational content for the community, while Nicole Bloomgarden voiced worries about the financial implications of losing the platform.
For example, several users have been pointing their followers to Red Note, a Chinese software that isn’t well-known in the United States.
The next administration will be responsible for enforcing the laws, as President Joe Biden’s tenure concludes on Monday and Donald Trump is scheduled to take office on the same day.
Although Trump was in favour of banning TikTok at first, he has now hinted that he might be against it. On Friday, he stated, “I need time to review the situation before making a final decision,” and added that he had addressed the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping about it.
Declining to credit TikTok with attracting younger voters in the 2024 election, Trump revealed his fondness for the platform in December. His previous attempts to ban TikTok via executive order during his first term stand in stark contrast to this position.
But ByteDance has maintained its stance that it would not sell TikTok and has threatened to end all operations in the United States on Sunday unless an agreement is made.
Last year, lawmakers from all parties backed the ban, expressing worries about TikTok’s possible connections to the Chinese government. TikTok has previously stated its intention to protect user privacy and has vehemently denied ever exchanging user data with Beijing.
