With President-elect Donald Trump adding uncertainty around whether a TikTok ban will go into effect, the focus is now turning to companies like Google and Apple that are expected to take the popular video sharing app off their platforms in just two days.
Though the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law that could ban TikTok nationwide, it’s unclear how a shutdown of the popular social media platform will play out and what Americans will see when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday.
The court decision comes against a backdrop of unusual political agitation by Trump, who vowed that he could negotiate a solution after he takes office, and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has signaled it won’t enforce the law beginning Sunday, his final full day in office. Now, tech observers — and some users — are intently watching to see what happens over the weekend and beyond.
Under the law, mobile app stores — like the ones operated by Apple and Google — and internet hosting services will face major fines if they continue to distribute the platform to U.S. users beyond the deadline for divestment from ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company. The companies could pay up to $5,000 for each user who continues to access TikTok, meaning penalties could total to a large sum.
[Continue reading below]A lawyer representing TikTok told Supreme Court justices last week that the platform will “go dark” on Jan. 19 if the law isn’t struck down. But TikTok, which is not required to block its own platform under the statute, has not said whether it will limit access to the app, or its website, on Sunday. Experts have noted TikTok’s app should remain available for current users, but existing ones will no longer be able to update it, making it unusable in the long term.
Trump’s national security adviser has signaled this week that the incoming administration may take steps to “keep TikTok from going dark,” though what that looks like — and if any of those steps can withhold legal scrutiny — remains unclear.
In the meantime, some of the attention has turned to tech companies, such as Apple, Google and Oracle, who currently offer TikTok on their app stores or host company data on their servers.
Tech CEOs have been attempting to forge friendlier ties with Trump, who wants to put the TikTok ban on hold, since he was elected in November. But Kreps said it would “defy credulity” for them to continue to offer TikTok, even if they want to please Trump, since it would open them up to punitive fines.
Tech companies are also used to removing apps at the behest of governments. In 2023, Apple says it removed nearly 1,500 apps globally. Nearly 1,300 of the apps were taken down in China.
Apple, Google and Oracle did not respond to questions sent this week about their plans on TikTok.
In a video after the court ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration and be granted a prime seating location on the dais, thanked the president-elect for “his commitment to work” with TikTok to “find a solution” that keeps the platform available.
Earlier this week, TikTok told its U.S. employees that its offices would remain open for work even if the “situation” won’t be resolved by Sunday. In the memo, which was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the company, TikTok told workers that their “employment, pay and benefits” were secure, adding that the law was written in a way that impacts the U.S. user experience, not the entities that employ them.
Meanwhile, in a letter sent Friday to Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, an attorney for TikTok creators who sued the government asked the administration to pause enforcement of the law “until there is further definitive guidance.”
“In addition, we request that you clarify that no app store, internet hosting service, or other provider faces any risk of enforcement or penalties with respect to TikTok, CapCut, or any other ByteDance apps, until such further guidance has been issued,” said the letter by attorney Jeffrey Fisher.
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