TikTok says it will 'go dark' in US on Sunday without intervention

TikTok stated that it will be forced to "cease services" in the United States on Sunday if the US government does not take action before the ban takes effect.

In its statement, TikTok said, "The Biden White House and the Justice Department have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurances to service providers that would maintain TikTok's availability." The company noted that unless the government intervenes immediately to assure the video app that it will not be penalized for violating the upcoming ban, TikTok will be "forced to cease services on January 19th."

TikTok's statement came after an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court on Friday. The ruling upheld a law that would ban the use of the app in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday. TikTok challenged the law, arguing that it violates the free speech protections of the country's 170 million users.

The Supreme Court ruling means that unless a buyer is found in the next few days, the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services. Previously, it was believed that the ban would not affect TikTok users who had already downloaded the app on their phones. However, TikTok's new statement late Friday suggests that the app may become immediately unavailable to all existing users, as well as those seeking to download it.

US President Joe Biden's term ends on Monday, and Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next president on the same day. The White House had previously stated that the enforcement of the law would therefore be the responsibility of the incoming president. Trump has stated that he opposes the ban, after previously supporting it. "My decision on TikTok will be made in the near future, but I have to have time to review the situation," he said on Friday.

ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and has stated that it plans to shut down the app's US operations on Sunday unless there is a stay of execution. Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted last year to ban the video-sharing app due to concerns about its ties to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly stated that it does not share information with Beijing.