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TikTok said on Friday that its service would “go dark” for its 170 million US users on Sunday in the face of a federal ban over fears that its Chinese assets could threaten US national security.
The company said in a statement posted on its website and on X that “TikTok will unfortunately be forced to go dark on January 19” unless Apple, Google and other companies are reassured. the Biden administration that they will not be penalized for sending the TikTok service to the service. United States.
The announcement is the latest attempt by TikTok to force the administration to grant it a waiver of the law, upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, which will ban its service from Sunday.
The law says that app stores and major cloud computing providers cannot deliver TikTok to US consumers unless the Chinese company, ByteDance, sells the company to its non-Chinese owner.
TikTok has not explained what will happen on Sunday, including whether it will voluntarily shut itself down or simply stop because it will lose access to the services it needs to stay online.
The announcement came after the Biden administration indicated that federal authorities would not take immediate action against Apple, Google and other companies under the law.
Lisa Monaco, the deputy attorney general, said in a statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling that the process “will come to an end.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said enforcement of the law would fall to the incoming Trump administration, which takes office on Monday.
TikTok said these comments were not enough to satisfy other companies that they would not run afoul of the law if they continued to distribute and maintain the app. These companies could face fines of up to $5,000 for each TikTok user who accesses the app in the United States after the ban is implemented.
“Today’s announcement from the Biden White House and the Department of Justice fails to provide the clarity and reassurance needed for service providers involved in keeping TikTok accessible to more Americans. 170 million,” said the company.
