Report: TikTok plans to shut down its app in the US ahead of ban – but Trump may suspend it

Updated:

TikTok plans to make its popular social media app inaccessible in the U.S. on Jan. 19, The Information reported this morning.

The looming shutdown is connected with a ban on the service that will go into effect the same day. TikTok reportedly won’t proceed with the plan if the U.S. Supreme Court scraps the ban, a scenario seen as unlikely. The shutdown can also be averted if TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. finds a buyer for the app. 

Update: However, this afternoon came news that President-elect Trump may suspend the ban for 60 to 90 days. So the fate of TikTok remains in flux.

Congress passed the ban last April in the form of a law called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Under the legislation, ByteDance must sell TikTok by Jan. 19 or shut down the app in the U.S. Elon Musk was floated as a potential buyer earlier this week but TikTok has dismissed the rumors as “pure fiction.”

After the ban goes into effect, app store operators such as Apple Inc. and Google LLC will have to remove TikTok from their marketplaces. Additionally, cloud providers won’t be allowed to host the service or facilitate the distribution of updates. Failing to comply with the rules could expose companies to fines equal to up to $5,000 per TikTok user in the U.S.

According to Reuters, users who launch the app after Jan. 19 will be greeted by a pop-up message. The message will direct them to a website explaining the ban. TikTok is also expected to provide a feature that will make it possible for users to download their data.

Under the law that requires ByteDance to find a buyer or face a ban, TikTok must provide a way for users to download their content and account information before the ban goes into effect. The legislation further specifies that this data must be made available in a machine-readable format.

TikTok is reportedly prepared for the possibility that the ban will be lifted. According to Reuters, the company can bring its app back online for U.S. users in a “relatively short” amount of time. Gizmodo reported that TikTok is not laying off its 7,000-person U.S. workforce.

The Supreme Court is currently weighing whether to reverse the ban. However, court observers believe that a decision favoring TikTok is unlikely in light of the three-hour hearing that the justices held about the matter last week.

During the hearing, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar brought two main arguments in favor of the ban. One is that China could manipulate the content seen by TikTok users, while the other is that consumers’ data could be used for blackmail or espionage. 

A lawyer for TikTok argued that banning the app is not how the government should address those concerns. One possibility floated during the hearing is that Congress could prohibit TikTok from sharing user data with ByteDance. Prelogar, however, argued that blocking such data sharing would be technically impossible. 

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision before Jan. 19.

Image: TikTok

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