White House says TikTok threat to go dark is a 'stunt'

The White House has said a menace by TikTok to unopen down successful the US connected Sunday unless tech firms get assurances they volition not beryllium punished for violating a instrumentality that bans the app is simply a "stunt".

Late connected Friday, the societal media level said it needed a committedness from the outgoing Biden medication that companies specified arsenic Apple and Google volition not look prosecution for ignoring the looming ban.

"It is simply a stunt, and we spot nary crushed for TikTok oregon different companies to instrumentality actions successful the adjacent fewer days earlier the Trump medication takes bureau connected Monday," said White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre.

Instead the Biden medication has said it volition beryllium up to President-elect Donald Trump, who takes bureau connected Monday, to determine however and if it wants to instrumentality the law.

TikTok said it would beryllium forced to "go dark" successful the US connected Sunday due to the fact that the White House and the Department of Justice had "failed to supply the indispensable clarity and assurance to the work providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok's availability".

It follows a Supreme Court ruling connected Friday greeting that upheld a instrumentality banning the app successful the US unless its China-based genitor company, ByteDance, sells the level by Sunday.

ByteDance has repeatedly said it volition not question a purchaser for the platform.

Under the law, the US mentation of the app would beryllium removed from app stores and web-hosting services successful the coming days.