US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban or sale law

TikTok has warned it will go dark in the United States on Sunday if President Joe Biden's administration does not provide assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect under the law which was upheld by the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court upheld the law banning the short-form video making platform over national security concerns, putting it on track to go offline in just two days unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it. TikTok has yet to make significant moves to divest from ByteDance by the Sunday deadline mandated by the law.

The 9-0 decision, issued late on Friday, places TikTok's 170 million American users in uncertainty, with the future of the app now depending on action from President-elect Donald Trump, who will be swearing-in on January 20. The law, which was passed with strong bipartisan support last year and signed by President Biden, prohibits US companies like Apple, Google, and Oracle from providing services to TikTok after the deadline. These companies could face hefty fines if they continue their services to the app post-ban.
TikTok has yet to make significant moves to divest from ByteDance by the Sunday deadline mandated by the law. However, the app's shutdown may be short-lived. Trump, who attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, has expressed plans to intervene and save the platform."My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future," Trump posted on social media. Trump also revealed that he discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call on Friday. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump's second inauguration on Monday.