TikTok is preparing a shutdown for its U.S. operations of its social media app. TikTok is planning to make its app unavailable to 170 million Americans on Sunday, just as a federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. As per the law signed in April, Tiktok app shall be banned for the downloads on Apple or Google, if ByteDance fails to divest the popular app TikTok in U.S.
There has been no update from the Trump transition team on this. Earlier, Trump stated that he would require time to pursue a “political resolution” of the issue after taking the office.
TikTok U.S. shutdown
Theoretically, all the TikTok users who have downloaded the app would still be able to use the app, except that the law also bars U.S. companies starting Sunday from providing services to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of it.
TikTok if banned, the users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. This news was shared by the people familiar with the matter.
“We go dark. Essentially, the platform shuts down,” TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco told the Supreme Court last week.
TikTok shutdown preparation
In preparation for shutdown TikTok plans to give users an option to download all their data so that they can take a record of their personal information, the sources said.
Whether to overturn the law, pause the law to give the court more time to make a decision or uphold the law and allow TikTok to be banned on Sunday, the decision is still pending. The U.S. Supreme Court is still deciding on the fate of TikTok.
Effect of TikTok U.S. shutdown
TikTok shut off in the U.S. could make it unavailable for users in many other countries, the company said in a court filing last month. This is as there are numerous service providers in the U.S. who help TikTok users around the world use the platform. If it is shutdown they will no longer be able to use TikTok platform starting Sunday.
As per court filing by TikTok a order was needed to “avoid interruption of services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States.”
TikTok had said that the prohibitions would eventually make the app unusable, noting in the filing that “data centers would almost certainly conclude that they can no longer store” TikTok code, content, or data.
Why TikTok opts for shutdown in U.S.?
The shutdown by TikTok is for protecting the service providers from legal liability and to make it easier to resume operations if the new administration opted to roll back any ban.
Shutting down such services does not require longer planning and if the ban gets reversed later, TikTok can restore service for U.S. users much quicker.
ByteDance’s TikTok
Institutional investors BlackRock and General Atlantic hold about 60% of the ByteDance, while its founders and employees own 20% each. There are more than 7000 employees working in ByteDance, U.S.
TikTok and ByteDance have sought possibly a delay in the implementation of the law.
