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The US Supreme Court upheld a takedown or ban law targeting TikTok, leaving the video app potentially facing an outage for its 170 million US users on Sunday.
The law requires TikTokChinese parent ByteDance will give up the platform by January 19 — the day before US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration — or face a nationwide ban.
A ruling by the country’s highest court on Friday means the video app could “go dark” in one of its biggest markets.
Unless a buyer is found and the company is spun off within days, the law requires the video app to be removed from the Apple and Google app stores.
However, the American media he reported on Thursday that US President Joe Biden would not enforce any ban during his final days in office, citing an administration official.
Trump also said he plans to “rescue” the app when he takes over the White House on Monday, without giving further details.
Trump had previously called on the Supreme Court to delay the statutory deadline to allow “an opportunity to seek a political solution to the issues in the case.”
The law, passed with strong bipartisan support last year, was prompted by concerns that Beijing could use the video platform, which has exploded in popularity among teenagers, for espionage or spreading propaganda.
TikTok asked the Supreme Court to hear its case after a US appeals court rejected its challenge to the law, as well as its subsequent request to stay the measure pending further court proceedings.
The social media app sought to overturn the law, claiming it was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
This is a developing story
