TikTok says it will close Sunday in U.S. if Biden does not intervene

The social media app TikTok on Friday announced that it would officially go dark in the United States on Sunday, when a federal ban on the app goes into effect, if President Joe Biden and his administration does not intervene immediately. 

The announcement comes after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal ban on Friday morning. The initial law ordered TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance to divest its shares of the app or face a ban on the app in the United States.

The law stems from concerns that the app could operate as an extension of the Chinese government, and endanger U.S. national security. But the company has strongly denied being "owned or controlled by any government or state-controlled entity."

The announcement comes after the Biden administration signaled on Thursday that it would leave the enforcement of the ban up to the next presidential administration, but TikTok claimed 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. “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.”

President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday, has not promised to protect the app but previously supported delaying the ban. Trump said on Friday that he would review the matter, but did not give a timeline on when he'd respond.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew thanked Trump for weighing in on the debate in a video message after the Supreme Court ruling.

“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,” he said in a video posted to TikTok. "This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. 

"We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform — one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process," he added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.