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(Reuters) – TikTok sparked panic across the US on Saturday as an impending government ban threatened to end access to the Chinese app that has won nearly half of all Americans, which running small businesses and online culture.
The company said on Friday it would go dark in the US on Sunday unless the administration of President Joe Biden gives assurances to companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:) and Google that they will not face enforcement actions. it starts.
The White House rejected the idea of TikTok as a distraction, repeating on Saturday that it was up to the Trump administration to act, raising the possibility of a shutdown on Sunday.
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, adding “actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the White House statement.
The ban would be implemented under a law signed by Biden in April and would mark the first US shutdown of a major social media app. TikTok has 170 million domestic users and an estimated $20 billion in revenue by 2025.
The platform has until Sunday to sever ties with its China-based parent ByteDance or close its US operations to address issues that pose a threat to national security.
Supreme Court justices upheld the ban on Friday in a unanimous decision and a White House statement suggested Biden would not take any action to save TikTok ahead of schedule.
In addition to Biden’s decision to request a 90-day delay in the deadline, companies that provide services to TikTok or run the app could face legal liability. It’s unclear whether TikTok’s business partners, including Apple, Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Google and Oracle (NYSE:), will continue to do business with it before Trump takes office on Monday.
USERS HAVE OTHER OPTIONS
Uncertainty about the future of the device has sent users – especially young people – looking for alternatives including China-based RedNote. Rivals Meta (NASDAQ: ) and Snap also saw their shares rise this month ahead of the ban, as investors bet on growing user numbers and ad dollars.
Advertising firms that rely on TikTok rushed to prepare contingency plans this week in what one executive described as “hair on fire” after months of conventional wisdom saying a solution would be in place to save the device is active.
There have been signs that TikTok may return under incoming US President Donald Trump, who wants to pursue a “political solution” to the issue and last month urged the Supreme Court to stop the ban. .
Trump said on Friday that the decision on the future of the TikTok app will be up to him, but did not give details on what steps he will take. Media reports say he is considering an executive order that would halt enforcement of the TikTok sales or ban law for 60 to 90 days.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the inauguration of the US president on Monday and sit among the high-ranking guests invited by Trump, a source told Reuters.
Suitors including the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in the fast-growing business that experts estimate could be worth $50 billion. Media reports say Beijing It has also held discussions about selling TikTok’s US operations to billionaire and Trump partner Elon Musk, although the company has denied that.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock (NYSE: ) and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each. It has more than 7,000 employees in the US
