TikTok Says It Will 'Go Dark' Without US Court Intervention

TikTok has announced that it will "go dark" in the United States if the Supreme Court does not intervene by extending a divestment deadline set for January 19. The company argues that if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, does not divest its U.S. operations by this date, its partners, including app stores and service providers, will cease their collaboration, effectively shutting down the app. During oral arguments at the Supreme Court, TikTok's attorney emphasized that the law would prevent the app from being downloaded and would likely block existing users from accessing videos. TikTok has been challenging a divest-or-ban law that mandates ByteDance to separate from TikTok's U.S. operations within nine months or face a ban. After losing a case in the District of Columbia Circuit, TikTok is seeking an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to pause the divestment deadline, arguing that the process of divesting is extraordinarily complex and time-consuming.

- TikTok plans to cease operations in the U.S. if the Supreme Court does not extend the divestment deadline.

- The divest-or-ban law requires ByteDance to separate from TikTok's U.S. operations within nine months.

- TikTok's attorney stated that partners would stop working with the app if the divestment is not completed.

- The company is seeking an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to pause the divestment deadline.

- A shutdown would prevent both new downloads and access for existing users.