China’s TikTok is reportedly preparing to shut down its app down for American users on Sunday, when the U.S. sell-or-ban law is set to go into effect.
As Breitbart News reported, the sell-or-ban law requires TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, to divest its stake in the app or else be banned in the United States on January 19. The Chinese app now faces a ban this Sunday, as ByteDance never sold its stake.
The U.S. sell-or-ban legislation, however, requires that new downloads of the TikTok app to be banned on Apple and Google, while existing accounts on the Chinese app an stay for some time, according to a report by Reuters.
But the TikTok shutdown won’t look like that, according to sources familiar with the matter, who told Reuters that the Chinese company plans to make it so U.S. users trying to open the app will receive a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban.
The sources added that TikTok will allow users the option to download all their data so that they can keep a record of it.
One of the people familiar with the matter also suggested that TikTok shutting down its U.S. services will be swift, as it does not require longer planning, but added that restoring its U.S. services would also take a relatively short time if the ban were to be reversed in the future.
The only way the ban will not transpire is if the U.S. Supreme Court moves to block it, sources added. TikTok has sought an emergency appeal to block the sell-or-ban legislation, for which the Supreme Court heard arguments last week. Ironically, the Chinese company, which is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, has argued that the law violates Americans’ First Amendment rights.
The sell-or-ban legislation has been supported by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of aisle, who say TikTok being under control by the Chinese government gives the Chinese Communist Party the ability to spy on Americans and spread propaganda.
Chinese officials have argued that ByteDance selling its stake in TikTok means exporting its technology to the United States. TikTok, meanwhile, responded to a recent report of ByteDance considering a sale to Elon Musk, calling it “pure fiction.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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