TikTok says it will ‘go dark’ if US government does not intervene happymamay

TikTok said it will be forced to “shut down” in the US on Sunday unless the government intervenes before the federal ban takes effect.

“Both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice failed to provide necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining the availability of TikTok,” she said in a statement.

She added that unless the US government immediately provides a statement offering assurances of non-enforcement, “Unfortunately TikTok will be forced to cease operations on January 19.”

TikTok’s statement follows a Supreme Court ruling earlier Friday, which upheld a law banning the video app in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday.

TikTok has challenged the law, arguing that it violates freedom of expression protections for millions of users in the country.

The Supreme Court ruling means that the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services, unless a buyer for the company is found by Sunday.

It was believed that the ban would not affect TikTok users who have already downloaded the app on their phones.

But TikTok’s new statement on Friday suggests it may immediately become unavailable to all 170 million US users plus those seeking to download it on Sunday.

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