Social media platform TikTok said it will be “forced to go dark” on Sunday unless the White House gives a “definitive” statement about its future, the company said in an announcement Friday night.
The announcement came after the Supreme Court earlier in the day upheld a law set to ban TikTok unless the platform severs ties with China-based parent company ByteDance by Sunday.
The Biden administration earlier Friday said it would not enforce the potential ban in the immediate aftermath of the deadline, leaving implementation of the law to President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Monday.
However, TikTok said the messages from the Biden administration were not clear 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 social media company said in its statement. “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.”
In response to the TikTok statement, a White House official told ABC News late Friday the Biden administration has already gone to extraordinary lengths to communicate its position — that it will be up to the incoming Trump administration to implement and enforce the law.
Earlier Friday, shortly after the Supreme Court released its decision, the White House had said enforcement of the ban would fall to Trump because of timing.
“TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after the ruling, adding, “Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”
Trump, who opposed the ban, has said he will seek to reverse it.
“The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
The court’s ruling was unanimous, with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch writing concurring opinions.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the justices said in the ruling. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
It continues, “For the foregoing Per Curiam reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.”
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a “long-form educational content creator,” livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP, FILE
In an apparent effort to limit the implications of its ruling, the court said its judgment should not be interpreted as a rebuke of common practices taken up by social media companies, such as data collection.
“We emphasize the inherent narrowness of our holding,” the unsigned ruling says. “Data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age. But TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”
In its statement about going dark, TikTok also referenced statements from the Justice Department.
Earlier Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement reading: “The Court’s decision enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security. Authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to millions of Americans’ sensitive data. The Court’s decision affirms that this Act protects the national security of the United States in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement: “The next phase of this effort — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19 — will be a process that plays out over time.”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration after receiving an invitation from the incoming administration.
Shou thanked Trump in a video posted to TikTok after the ruling by the Supreme Court.
“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. This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” he said.
Shou added, “We are grateful and please to have the support of a president who truly understands out 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.
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s U.S. main office in Culver City, Calif., Sept. 15, 2020.
Mike Blake/Reuters, FILE
Trump said he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday morning with TikTok being one of the topics they discussed, according to a Truth Social post.
TikTok — which boasts more than 170 million U.S. users — challenged the sale-or-ban law on First Amendment grounds, arguing that a potential ban would limit the free-expression rights of its users.
Lower courts, however, found merit in security concerns about potential data collection or content manipulation undertaken by the Chinese government.
Even after the ban takes effect, TikTok could remain available for U.S. users.
Rather than force TikTok to take the app dark, the law targets third-party companies like cloud-service providers and app stores. TikTok could circumvent such restrictions, at least temporarily, though experts say the quality of the app would degrade over time.
-ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze and Jack Moore contributed to this report.