The Supreme Court has agreed to uphold a law that could result in TikTok being banned in the United States starting January 19. In response, TikTok has issued a formal statement indicating that it may have to shut down operations unless it receives urgent assistance from the outgoing administration.
According to the company's announcement, “If the Biden Administration does not provide a clear assurance that crucial service providers will not be enforced against, TikTok will regrettably have to go offline on January 19.”
So, what does going dark mean?
Currently, there is no official clarification on what TikTok means by “going dark.” Speculation abounds regarding how the platform may appear once it ceases operations in the United States.
Having lived in a country where TikTok was banned along with various other apps linked to China, I can share some insights. The situation has remained unchanged since the initial ban. In several instances, TikTok faced restrictions mainly affecting federal devices, while some countries like Pakistan and Albania experienced a more fluctuating status.
For anyone curious about the experience of accessing TikTok from a nation where it’s banned, the usual display upon trying to log in often indicates restrictions:
This message typically states that access to the platform is restricted, consistent with compliance efforts with local agencies. Even though the ban in India began in 2020, this same notification remains in place today.
For users in the United States, while the message may differ slightly, the underlying response will likely be comparable. Attempting to access other TikTok domains, like the newsroom, could generate a network error that resembles this:
Regarding the app’s availability, Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok's listings from their respective stores under local law. Consequently, fresh downloads will become impossible.
When trying to access the app via a direct link, users will encounter an error message on Google Play Store that looks like this:
For those on Apple's App Store, this is the error displayed on my iPhone:
Is there still hope left?
Does this indicate no way out? In their official response to the Supreme Court decision, TikTok expressed hope that the Biden Administration would intervene on their behalf. There are rumors that the incoming president, Donald Trump, may take action to protect the platform soon after he takes office the day after the deadline.
The TikTok CEO is reportedly set to attend Trump's inauguration, as noted by The New York Times. Additionally, The Washington Post speculates that Trump may issue an executive order extending the ban's timeline by two to three months, although specifics on how this would be enacted remain unclear.
On a related note, NBC News has reported that the Biden administration is looking to maintain some level of TikTok's availability post-ban. “Americans shouldn’t anticipate TikTok being completely unavailable on Sunday,” stated an unnamed official.
