The law threatening TikTok with a ban in the United States will come into force on Sunday: the application is preparing for its closure, but is hoping for a change of heart from the Trump administration.
In the United States, its fate is almost certain: TikTok is “unfortunately forced to close on January 19,” the platform announced Friday January 17. The American Supreme Court has in fact authorized the entry into force of a law, adopted in April 2024, threatening to ban the social network.
This law, which comes into force on Sunday, requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to transfer the application to another owner if it wishes to continue its activities in the United States. The objective is to prevent the risks of espionage and manipulation of users of the platform by the Chinese authorities, recalls Franceinfo.
Can the application save itself at the last minute? For ByteDance, there is no question of selling. To avoid the disappearance of TikTok across the Atlantic, there remains one solution: that “the government of Joe Biden does not guarantee the non-application of the law”, the company hopes. But the administration is making a move, a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump. “Law enforcement (should) return to the next government, which takes office on Monday,” according to a statement from White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. The ban should therefore be put in place on Sunday.
No more downloads or updates from Sunday
But it could be short-lived: the administration of Donald Trump, which will be inaugurated on Monday January 20, could pause the ban for 60 to 90 days, revealed Wednesday the Washington Post. In December, the billionaire and future American president had in fact asked to suspend the law in order to give his new administration “the possibility of seeking a political solution to the questions raised in the case”.
TikTok had also displayed its closeness to Donald Trump. Its chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, said on Friday, January 17: “I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution that allows TikTok to remain available in the United States. It is a position strong for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.”
How will the ban be implemented? Will the app disappear from American phones? No. The law requires internet service providers and app stores to block TikTok downloads and updates from midnight Saturday night. And that only concerns the United States: in the rest of the world, TikTok remains accessible. So there is no need to worry on our side of the ocean.
A priori, Americans will always have access to the application, as long as the version on their phone is not obsolete. However, TikTok would be unavailable in the United States via its website, unless you use a VPN to mask your location, explains USA Today. And unless Donald Trump’s administration decides not to apply the law in the days following his inauguration.