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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell the social-media platform or face a ban in the U.S., raising the prospect that the app goes “dark” Sunday is the day that its 170 millions users across the nation.
In April, President Joe Biden signed a law that required TikTok’s Chinese parent to divest its short-video website or else it wouldn’t be permitted to operate on U.S. soil for national security reasons.
However, the Biden administration on Friday said it wouldn't take steps to enforce the law, leaving it to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration to implement the ban.
“As of January 19, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will make it unlawful for companies in the United States to provide services to distribute, maintain, or update the social media platform TikTok, unless U. S. operation of the platform is severed from Chinese control,” The Supreme Court issued a press release.
Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google Play Store and Apple’s (AAPL) App Store won’t be able to offer TikTok to users in the U.S. after Sunday’s deadline, and the app could go “dark” For U.S. based users.
“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,” Karine Jean-Pierre is the White House press secretary.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Friday, Trump said he would "respect" the Supreme Court decision. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” He said.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about a variety of issues, including TikTok’s fate. “We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” He said on Truth Social.
TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi chew said this in TikTok’s video on Friday. “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.”
According to earlier reports, although Chinese officials prefer that ByteDance controls TikTok, the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operation to Elon Musk was being considered as a possible response should the ban take effect in the U.S.
Wedbush Analysts, who expected the Supreme Court to uphold law before the Friday decision, wrote that “believe the Trump Administration is working aggressively to set the stage for a deal. They estimate that a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations could be valued in the $40 billion to $50 billion range.
UPDATEThe article was updated to reflect new information and contextualization since its first publication.
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