TikTok has been facing immense pressure in the U.S. for quite some time, with regulations trying to impose a ban or force a divestiture of the platform's operations. Earlier, a Bloomberg report emerged claiming that Chinese officials are considering the possibility of selling TikTok to Elon Musk, but the report has been denied by the officials, suggesting that there is no truth to it. Now, another development in the ongoing controversy has surfaced, and a report suggests that the app may be completely shut down from Sunday for its U.S. users on account of a federal ban being placed on the platform.
TikTok could be completely shut down in the U.S. from Sunday as China attempts to put pressure on the country's lawmakers
TikTok's operation in the U.S. has met with quite a few hiccups since 2020 when Trump announced that he would ban the platform in the country unless it is sold to a local-based company. While the deadline kept on being extended, the issue was again highlighted in 2023, when the Chinese company that runs the platform, ByteDance, was taken to court for two likely outcomes: either a ban or forced sale of the app. President Biden signed the bill, and the effective date for it is January 19th.
As per the legal requirement of the ban, Apple and Google would not be allowed to host TikTok in the United States as the ban mandates the app stores to block downloads of the app while remaining operational for the existing users. However, a new Reuters report claims that the company would instead opt for a more intense approach by allowing the complete shutdown of the app for U.S. users. As per the report:
TikTok plans to shut its app for U.S. users from Sunday, when a federal ban on the social media app could come into effect. Under TikTok’s plan, people attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is not public.
TikTok directing users to the ban and letting them know that the shutdown is a forced measure could be an attempt by the company to shift the focus of blame away from ByteDance to the U.S. lawmakers and also a tactic to pressure the government by building up user frustration. While a few days back, a Bloomberg report claimed that the Chinese government is considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk, a new report from The Independent highlights a TikTok spokesperson's comment that denies such options being considered and referred to them as pure fiction.
Now, it seems to be that a senator is looking into passing a new law that extends the deadline for the ban to an additional 270 days. This extension is aimed at giving the company more time to consider striking a deal with a US company to acquire TikTok. Whether the bill is passed or not is yet to be seen, but unless the extension goes into effect, we could see TikTok being shut down completely on Sunday for users in the United States.
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