TikTok to Shut Down US Operations on Sunday
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TikTok is preparing to cease US operations this Sunday, Reuters reported on Wednesday, unless a last-minute intervention from President-elect Donald Trump prevents the ban from taking effect.
The impending shutdown, mandated by a federal law signed in April, follows a Supreme Court hearing last week where justices appeared poised to uphold the legislation.
The law, originally aimed at addressing national security concerns, requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest its US assets by January 19th. Failure to comply will result in a nationwide ban, rendering the app inaccessible to US users.
While President-elect Trump has expressed an interest in finding a "political resolution" to the TikTok issue, the current US administration has indicated it cannot intervene without a credible divestiture plan from ByteDance.
“TikTok itself is a fantastic platform,” Trump's incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News on Wednesday. "We're going to find a way to preserve it but protect people's data."
TikTok, in anticipation of the ban, is preparing a series of measures to minimize disruption for its 170 million US users. The company plans to display a pop-up message directing users to a website explaining the situation when they attempt to open the app. Users will also have the option to download all their data.
The company has warned that a US shutdown could have global repercussions, potentially impacting service availability for tens of millions of users worldwide. This is due to the reliance of the platform on US-based service providers, who would be prohibited from supporting TikTok's distribution, maintenance, and updates following the ban's implementation.
Despite the significant ramifications, the shutdown strategy aims to protect TikTok's service providers from legal liability and facilitate a relatively swift resumption of operations should President-elect Trump intervene to reverse the ban.
TikTok and ByteDance have not yet responded to Reuters' requests for comment.