TikTok said it would be forced to go “black” in the US on Sunday unless the government intervened before the ban.
In a statement, it said “both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarification and assurance to service providers essential to maintaining the availability of TikTok”.
It said that unless the government intervenes quickly to ensure the video app will not be penalized for violating the upcoming ban, it will “be forced to go dark on January 19”.
TikTok’s statement follows a Supreme Court ruling earlier Friday that upheld a ban on the app in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform on Sunday.
TikTok challenged the law, saying it violated free speech protections for its 170 million users in the country.
But the Supreme Court ruling means that the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services, unless a buyer is found in the coming days.
It was thought that the ban would not affect TikTok users who already have the app downloaded on their phones.
But a new statement from TikTok late Friday suggests that it may not be available to all existing users and those looking to download it.
President Joe Biden’s term will end on Monday, and Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next president on that day. The White House previously said it would be up to the next president to enforce the law.
Trump has indicated his opposition to the ban, after supporting the measure. “I will make my decision on TikTok soon, but I have to have time to review the situation,” he said on Friday.
ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and said it plans to shut down the app’s operations in the US on Sunday unless there is relief.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to block the video-sharing app last year, over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly said it does not share data with Beijing.
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