The 170 million TikTok users in the U.S. may face a shock this Sunday if the widely-used app becomes inaccessible due to a law passed by Congress last year with bipartisan support.
On Saturday, TikTok users received a notification within the app warning that the company might voluntarily shut down as soon as Sunday.
“We regret to inform you that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19, making our services temporarily unavailable,” the notification stated. “We are working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible and appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
For years, lawmakers and U.S. officials have raised concerns over the potential national security risks posed by TikTok's connections to China. In response, Congress enacted a law last year requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or face being banned from the U.S. market. The law set a deadline of January 19—just one day before a new presidential term begins.
With that deadline now in effect and no sign of a sale, TikTok’s last-minute legal challenge was rejected on Friday when the Supreme Court ruled the law does not infringe on the First Amendment.
The Biden administration has indicated it will leave enforcement to the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to "save" the app, stating on Saturday that he is considering extending the deadline for the law’s implementation. In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said, "A 90-day extension is likely to happen, as it’s the right thing to do. If I proceed with this, I’ll probably announce it on Monday."
The law allows the president to grant a one-time 90-day extension under certain circumstances.
Despite this potential extension, TikTok has suggested that it may still go offline once the law takes effect, which would leave creators and users in limbo as the company looks for a way to regain legal standing.
In a statement to CBS News on Friday evening, TikTok expressed concern that "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 crucial for maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans." The company added, "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."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed TikTok's statement on Saturday, calling it "a stunt." She further commented, "We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday. We have clearly outlined our position: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. TikTok and other companies should address any concerns with them."
Here’s a recap of the TikTok ban and how the situation unfolded:
Why did Congress push for a TikTok ban?
U.S. officials have repeatedly raised concerns that TikTok poses a national security threat, fearing that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans or manipulate U.S. public opinion by controlling what content is amplified or suppressed. The fears stem from Chinese national security laws, which mandate that companies cooperate with intelligence gathering efforts. FBI Director Christopher Wray warned lawmakers last year that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to compromise American devices.
When Congress began discussing the divest-or-ban law in April 2024, Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, likened the app to a "spy balloon in Americans' phones." Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, revealed in classified briefings that lawmakers had learned about "rivers of data" being collected and shared in ways that conflicted with American security interests.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, emphasized the risks, stating, "If you have TikTok on your phone currently, it can track your whereabouts, it can read your text messages, it can track your keystrokes. It has access to your phone records." Hawley argued that if the Chinese government accessed this data, "it’s not just a national security threat, it’s a personal security threat."
In 2022, TikTok launched "Project Texas" to safeguard American users’ data on U.S.-based servers, hoping to ease concerns. However, the Justice Department deemed the plan inadequate, as it still permitted some U.S. data to flow to China.
Although the divest-or-ban law passed with bipartisan support, some lawmakers have voiced concerns, agreeing with TikTok that the law infringes on Americans' free speech rights.
"Most of the reasons the government banned it were based on accusations, not proof," said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Friday. "[TikTok has] never been tried and found guilty of sharing information with the communist government."
However, some have shifted their stance as the ban's deadline approached, including former President Trump, who had attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order during his first term, only for the order to be struck down in court.
"The irony is that Donald Trump was the first one to point out there’s a problem," said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "The Trump administration did a great job of convincing me and overwhelming members of Congress" about the risks.
TikTok’s Day at the Supreme Court
During oral arguments before the Supreme Court on January 10, TikTok’s lawyer did not deny the potential national security risks, as justices expressed skepticism about the company's legal challenge.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned TikTok’s defense, stating, "I think Congress and the president were concerned that China was accessing information about millions of Americans, tens of millions, including teenagers, people in their 20s, and that they would use that information over time to develop spies, turn people, or blackmail people—people who a generation from now might work in the FBI, CIA, or the State Department. Is that not a realistic assessment of the risks here?"
Noel Francisco, who represented TikTok, responded, "I’m not disputing the risks. I’m disputing the means they have chosen."
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