TikTok getting ready to shut down in US on Sunday, report says
TikTok is preparing to completely shut off its app for US users on Sunday, which is when a federal ban on the platform could come into effect, The Information reports. Unless, of course, the Supreme Court blocks it.
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TikTok is preparing to completely shut off its app for US users on Sunday, which is when a federal ban on the platform could come into effect, The Information reports. Unless, of course, the Supreme Court blocks it.
If that really is the plan, it would seem TikTok is choosing a bold strategy the goal of which could be to put additional and urgent pressure on US authorities.
That’s because the law banning TikTok would actually mandate a ban only on new TikTok downloads on Apple or Google app stores.
Existing users could still continue using the app for some time, even though, of course, no updates would be available and its performance would most likely deteriorate.
However, according to The Information, TikTok is not planning to just sit around and wait for the ban to take effect – the company is allegedly planning to proactively shut down the app for all US users.
In other words, the result of the law entering force would be sudden and, presumably, shocking for the millions of TikTok users in the US.
Under TikTok's plan, people attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
TikTok is also preparing to give users the option to download all their data so they can take a record of their personal information with them – and maybe export it to one of TikTok’s alternatives such as Lemon8, also owned by Bytedance, or RedNote.
US President Joe Biden had in April last year signed a law requiring Bytedance to sell its US assets by January 19th or face a nationwide ban. Both Bytedance and TikTok say the law violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.
The fate of TikTok is still going to be decided in the Supreme Court which is deliberating the company’s appeal of the impending ban. However, justices strongly signaled last week that they are likely to uphold the law.
Still, the US President-elect Donald Trump – who is to be inaugurated next week – clearly prefers TikTok to remain available in the country.
Trump previously vilified TikTok as a national security threat and even tried to ban it. But he’s now defending the platform and even asked the Supreme Court in December to pause the ban.