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TikTok may shut down totally on Sunday unless the ban is delayed by new law [U]

TikTok may shut down totally in the US on Sunday, with the app no longer opening at all, according to a new report. This would go well beyond the legal requirement of the ban, which would only prevent new downloads.

However, Congress may be about to throw the company a lifeline, through a proposed new law granting it another 270 days before the ban comes into effect

In related news, Chinese officials have denied a Bloomberg report that Bytedance is considering selling its US operations to X owner Elon Musk.

The story so far

The saga began back in 2020, when then-president Trump announced that he would ban TikTok from the US unless the app was sold to a US company by September of that year. The deadline was twice extended before it was quietly allowed to lapse with no action.

However, Congress picked things up in 2023, with a new law intended to either ban TikTok from the US, or to force the sale of the app to an American-owned company. Bytedance took the US government to court, arguing that the threatened ban would be unconstitutional, interfering with a First Amendment right to free speech.

That case was heard last month, with the judges unanimously rejecting the constitutional argument. The last hope was a bid for a Supreme Court injunction, but that now looks unlikely to be granted.

App may shut down totally in the US

The ban only requires new downloads of the app to be blocked by app stores. It would allow the app to remain operational for existing users.

However, Reuters reports that the company plans a total shutdown instead.

TikTok plans to shut its app for U.S. users from Sunday, when a federal ban on the social media app could come into effect […]

Under TikTok’s plan, people attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is not public.

This is likely an attempt by China to put pressure on the US, as it knows existing users will be very upset, and is hoping they will blame US lawmakers rather than the Chinese government.

A new law may provide a 270-day extension

A senator is now trying to pass a new law to give the company more time to reach a deal to sell to a US company.

Senator Edward J. Markey announced his plan to introduce legislation, the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, to delay the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days.

He said there’s too much at stake to allow the ban to be implemented on Sunday.

As the January 19th deadline approaches, TikTok creators and users across the nation are understandably alarmed. They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts, and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated.

These communities cannot be replicated on another app. A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.

It’s not yet known whether Markey has sufficient support for the bill to pass.

Chinese officials deny Elon Musk report

Bloomberg yesterday reported that the Chinese government is considering an offer from Elon Musk.

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter […]

Senior Chinese officials had already begun to debate contingency plans for TikTok as part of an expansive discussion on how to work with Donald Trump’s administration, one of which involves Musk.

However, The Independent reports that this has been denied.

In response to the reports, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”

Photo by Visuals on Unsplash

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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