TikTok to shut down without Biden's "definitive" assurance

18/1/2025 16:47

TikTok announced Friday that it will be forced to shut down its services for the 170 million users in the United States on Sunday unless U.S. President Joe Biden provides a "definitive" assurance.



The announcement came though Biden's administration indicated that it will not immediately enforce a law intended to ban the popular video platform nationwide.



In a brief statement on its website, TikTok, headquartered in Los Angeles, warned that unless the Biden administration acts urgently to reassure U.S. companies that provide essential services to the platform, the shutdown process will be unavoidable.



"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," it said.



Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law forcing TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American company or face a nationwide ban starting on Sunday, just one day before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.



In the wake of the decision, millions of users flocked to TikTok's site to express their support for the platform.



The White House responded shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling, shifting responsibility to TikTok and Trump.