It was unclear whether TikTok would still be available in the United States on Sunday, with the company saying that President Joe Biden’s administration would have to provide “certain” assurances that it would not impose a ban. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld legislation that would have effectively banned TikTok in the US if the app’s owner, ByteDance, did not sell it. With sales not expected to take place for two days before the law goes into effect (and ByteDance repeatedly insisting it will not sell), it looks like TikTok will disappear from the app store on Sunday, January 19. stop working because US companies will be prohibited from providing services that support app distribution, maintenance, or updates. However, January 19 is also the day before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, and the incoming president asked the Supreme Court to suspend the ban so that he could “negotiate a resolution to save the platform.” While the court did not agree to a delay, the Biden administration also seems inclined to leave the fate of TikTok in the hands of Trump. In a statement on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden’s position has not changed – that is, “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but only in American ownership or other ownership that addresses national security issues identified by Congress. . ” However, given the time, Jean-Pierre said that “action to implement the law should only be taken in the next Administration.” In addition, a statement from the Department of Justice from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco suggested that “the next phase of this effort – to implement and ensure compliance with the law after it takes effect on January 19 – it will be a process that will take place over time.” However, TikTok responded with its own statement indicating that this is not enough for companies and other service providers to continue offering the TikTok application. In TikTok’s view, Biden and the DOJ “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to service providers integral to maintaining the availability of TikTok to more than 170 million Americans.” , unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.” After TikTok’s comments, Jean-Pierre described the company’s statement as a “stunt,” and said that the administration sees “no reason for TikTok or other companies to act in some the next day before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.” This post has been updated to reflect additional comments from the White House, as well as reports that TikTok may be shut down entirely in the US, not just removed from the app store.
