Date: January 18, 2025
TikTok has announced it will “go dark” in the United States on January 19 unless the government provides assurances that a new law calling for its ban won’t be used to penalize service providers.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law backed by President Joe Biden and Congress, requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell its US operations or cease operations by January 19. The unanimous ruling found the law does not violate free speech rights, confirming the government’s national security concerns over ByteDance’s ownership of the app.
ByteDance has firmly rejected selling its US operations, with Beijing denouncing the law as theft.
However, the Biden administration stated it would not enforce the ban, leaving the matter to incoming President Donald Trump, who opposes the ban and said he would take time to find an alternative.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew thanked Trump for his “commitment to finding a solution,” and noted that Trump “truly understands our platform.”
The law mandates that Apple and Google remove TikTok from their app stores, blocking new downloads, with penalties of up to $5,000 per user.
TikTok’s lawyer, Noel Francisco, had warned that the platform would shut down if the legal defeat occurred.
