If the administration of current United States President Joe Biden does not immediately come up with a clear decision assuring that the law threatening to ban the Chinese social media app TikTok in the US from Sunday is not enforced, TikTok itself will pull the plug on the video app for its US users on Sunday.
The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled to uphold the impending ban on TikTok, with the judges unanimously ruling that free speech must give way to concerns that Chinese control of the app poses a risk to national security.
"There can be no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers an important means of expression, interaction and belonging to a community," said the nine Supreme Court justices unanimously. "But Congress established that its transfer is necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns."
The decision by America's highest court came just over 36 hours before the deadline imposed by Congress on TikTok's parent company, the Chinese group ByteDance, to sell its subsidiary.
Trump to oversee enforcement
Theoretically, the law requires internet service providers (ISPs) and app shops to block downloads and updates from midnight on Saturday night. When contacted by AFP, the main providers did not respond.
The White House said that "enforcement of the law (should) be left to the next administration, which takes office on Monday," said spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. The US Department of Justice said on Friday that the application of the law would be spread out over time, which raises the question of its effects in the very short term.
"The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have not provided the necessary clarity and certainty to service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok's availability to more than 170 million Americans," said a statement by TikTok.
"Unless the Biden administration immediately issues a definitive statement that can satisfy the most critical service providers by ensuring non-enforcement, TikTok will be forced to go dark on 19 January."
Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
This means that the popular app's Chinese parent company Bytedance would have to sell the app by 19 January (Sunday), or else the app may no longer be made available in the United States.
President Joe Biden's administration reported on Friday that TikTok should remain available to Americans, but it is leaving enforcement of the law to the administration of Donald Trump, who takes the oath as president on Monday.
On several occasions, Trump said he was in favour of preserving the app in the United States, and had even pleaded with the Supreme Court to do so, to no avail. On Friday, he stressed that the Court's decision should be respected, but said he "needed time" to rule on the fate of the social network, promising a decision "in the not-too-distant future."
"Ultimately, it's up to me, so you'll see what I do," he told CNN.
