Donald Trump has said he will “probably” give TikTok 90 days on the ban which is due to take effect on Sunday, the night of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.
Trump told NBC News that an announcement on the matter would come Monday after he takes office.
It comes after social media warned it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban would not be enforced.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law banning the app from the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by January 19. ByteDance declined to seek a buyer.
TikTok said late Friday that the White House and the Department of Justice “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to service providers essential to maintaining the availability of TikTok”.
But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Saturday that TikTok’s warning that it was going dark was “surprising”.
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes effect on Monday,” he said.
“We have stated our position clearly and directly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. Therefore, TikTok and other companies should address any concerns.”
Trump said Friday he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to be among the tech giants at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
US national security officials have warned that Chinese spies could use the app’s data collection to track US workers and contractors, which TikTok has denied.
On Friday, China’s embassy in Washington DC accused the US of unfairly suppressing TikTok: “China will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesperson said.
The platform is most popular among the 170 million users it claims to have in the US, some of whom have been lobbying members of Congress to fight the ban. It is also an important tool for American political campaigns to reach young voters.
Trump previously supported a ban on TikTok, but recently said he is a “warm spot” for the app, citing the billions of views he says his videos attracted on the platform during last year’s presidential campaign.
Under a law passed last April, the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services in the coming days.
Content creators who depend on the app for income have told the BBC that if it is shut down in the US, their lives will be disproportionately affected.
“Indirectly, TikTok has been the majority of my income because all the brands want their stuff to be promoted on the app,” Nicole Bloomgarden, a fashion designer and artist who uses TikTok, told the BBC.
TikTok did not respond to the BBC’s questions about what it meant by “darkness” in the US.
But another possible outcome is what happens in India when the app runs afoul of its authorities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved to ban a number of Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, in 2020 after a deadly standoff with Chinese forces on disputed borders.
Two weeks later, India’s 200 million TikTok users were unable to log in after Indian internet providers were ordered to block access to the app.
App stores owned by Google and Apple have also stopped offering TikTok. The app has not formally challenged India’s ban.
Since the ban, short platforms from competitors have largely filled the space with TikTok copies of Meta-owned Instagram Reels and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.
Meta is widely seen as the winner of the ban on TikTok in India.
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