TikTok says it will be “forced to go dark” on Jan. 19 unless the Biden administration issues a more formal guarantee that it will not go after service providers hosting the app.
“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,” TikTok said in a statement. “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 Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that requires US app stores and hosting providers to remove TikTok on Jan. 19 unless the popular ByteDance-owned social platform sells itself to a US buyer. Given that President Biden will hand over the reins to Donald Trump at noon ET on Jan. 20, the current White House has punted the issue to the incoming administration.
In a Friday statement, the White House reiterated that “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.” But “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.”
The Justice Department, which would be required to enforce the law, said it welcomes the Supreme Court decision. “The Court’s ruling also underscores that the bipartisan legislation upheld today is focused on protecting Americans, not restricting free speech,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Rather, this legislation is about breaking the ties that bind TikTok to the government in Beijing, in a manner consistent with the Constitution.”
Those ties will not be broken by the Biden administration. “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,” Monaco said.
TikTok has denied that it will hand over app data to the Chinese government. But the Supreme Court noted in its decision that ByteDance is subject to Chinese laws requiring it to cooperate with the Chinese government’s “intelligence work,” allowing China to “access and control” data on American citizens that the social network holds.
Though Trump started this TikTok ban fight with a 2020 executive order, he now says he doesn’t want it to go away—mainly because he’s popular on TikTok.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has played into this narrative. “We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform,” he said on Friday. “One who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process.
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“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” Chew added. “This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.”
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Trump said on Truth Social that his “decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future [after I have] time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” He later told NBC News that he’s considering a 90-day delay (which technically is supposed to be an option if a deal to sell is imminent), but he hasn’t made a final decision.
In December, Trump’s legal team urged the US Supreme Court to pause the incoming ban to “give him the chance to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.” Trump said he has a “little bit of a warm spot in [his] heart” for TikTok because younger people like it so much—a demographic that helped him in the election. Reports also indicate that he met with Chew in Florida in December.
Ahead of a ban, some Americans are already searching for TikTok alternatives. Another Chinese-produced social app, RedNote—also known as Xiaohongshu in China—is currently the top free app on the US iOS App Store.
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About Will McCurdy
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