Will Apple, Google take off TikTok on Januray 19?

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

Washington: 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.

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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 on 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. “We’re really in uncharted territory here in terms of tech policy,” said Sarak Kreps, the director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute.

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 US 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.

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. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I must have time to review the situation,” Trump said Friday in a post on Truth Social after the court’s ruling. Earlier in the day, he said in another post that TikTok was among the topics in his conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.