170 million TikTok users in the United States may wake up Sunday morning with nothing but darkness where their favorite social media site used to be. A federal ban on the social media giant goes into effect on Sunday, and while the Biden Administration has suggested that they would not enforce the ban, TikTok and its service providers aren’t so sure.
Statement on Possible Shutdown
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…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 18, 2025
President Biden signed the bipartisan law banning TikTok in April. The law gave TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, until January 19th to sell the platform to a US-friendly buyer or face a ban in the US. The law cites TikTok as a national security threat because, like all social media platforms, it gathers an incredible amount of personal information from its users. What makes TikTok a threat is ByteDance, which is tied to the Chinese Communist Party, giving China a conduit to spy on Americans.
TikTok says it will go dark on Sunday unless Biden intervenes “immediately” https://t.co/MkvoPoOWJg
— CNN (@CNN) January 18, 2025
It had been expected that platform providers like Google and Apple would remove TikTok from their App stores. Under the law, platform providers could be fined as much as $5,000 per user for providing downloads or updates. 170 million $5,000 fines could add up pretty quickly, and the companies are looking for more than just a promise from the President.
The Biden administration has made clear it would leave enforcement of the ban to President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, and a White House official reiterated Friday night that its position on the matter has been sufficiently clear.
While the official did not rule out further action before the Sunday deadline, they said the administration had clearly signaled that it would not penalize service providers like Google and Apple for hosting TikTok on Sunday.
Still, TikTok said that was not enough.
“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,” the company said in a statement Friday evening. “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.”
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I guess giving your word as a Biden doesn’t carry as much weight as Joe thought.
Bytedance has been fighting the ban and, more directly, the forced sale of TikTok. On Friday, the Supreme Court denied them a last-minute reprieve.
Earlier Friday, the high court handed down an unsigned opinion in the TikTok Case, and there were no noted dissents. The decision, which followed warnings from the Biden administration that the app posed a “grave” national security threat because of its ties to China, will allow the ban to start Sunday. But there are a lot of lingering questions about how the ban would work in practice because there’s no precedent for the US government blocking a major social media platform. And how exactly the government would enforce it remains unclear.
In its opinion, the Supreme Court acknowledged that for 170 million Americans TikTok offers “a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community.”
But the court said, Congress was focused on national security concerns and that, the court said, was a deciding factor in how it weighed the case.
“Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” the court wrote.
TikTok pulling the plug on itself was not expected but might be a move to pressure the Biden administration to do something officially to delay enforcement of the ban until Donald Trump takes office on Monday. Trump has suggested that he would prefer to make a deal that kept TikTok operating while alleviating national security concerns.
“It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,” Trump said.
Asked if he would try to reverse the pending ban, Trump said: “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision.”
Trump also confirmed he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying they had “a great talk about TikTok and a great talk about many other subjects.”
Reaction to the announcement has been mixed.
Quit trying to get your users all worked up. It’s on YOU to make changes, to sell TikTok to a buyer outside of an adversarial country. If you have to shut down, it’s YOUR own fault, nobody else’s.
— Red Wave LLC (@RedWaveLLC) January 18, 2025
-China ban Youtube
-America ban Tiktok
ah, you commies don’t like it when you are the target, do you?
— gosuprime (@gosuprime022) January 18, 2025
Sad pic.twitter.com/Kj87wgwNVW
— Sean Agnew (@seanagnew) January 18, 2025
Others want to see something done to keep TikTok up and running.
TikTok must be saved. The whole Chinese security risk is BS. We know that TikTok’s lack of censorship is the real reason.
— Andy froemel (@FroemelAndy) January 18, 2025
When corporations and states clash, it’s the public that pays the price. Freedom of expression must be protected.
— 𝐀𝐌𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐈🇵🇰 (@AMRmalik5110) January 18, 2025
Sunday might be a dark day for TikTok users, especially those who monetize the platform, twerking their way to fame and fortune or doing whatever it is they do over there to make a buck. But here is light at the end of the tunnel with the incoming Trump administration’s desire to work out a deal that will keep TikTok operational in the US.
Time will tell if that light is an oncoming train.
