By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he would “very likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a possible ban after he takes office on Monday, as the app with 170 million of American users vibrates with nervous anticipation. of a closing scheduled for Sunday.
“The 90-day extension is something that will probably be done because it's appropriate,” Trump told NBC in an interview. “If I decide to do that, I'll probably announce it on Monday.”
The Chinese-owned app, which has captivated nearly half of Americans, boosted small businesses and shaped online culture, said it will stop operating in the U.S. on Sunday unless the administration President Joe Biden provide assurances to companies like Apple (NASDAQ:) and Google that they will not face enforcement action when a ban goes into effect.
Under a law passed last year and confirmed Friday by a unanimous Supreme Court, the platform has until Sunday to cut ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance or close its U.S. operation to resolve concerns that it poses a threat to the national security.
The White House dismissed TikTok's Friday comment as a stunt, reiterating on Saturday that it was up to the incoming Trump administration to take action, raising the likelihood of a shutdown on Sunday.
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new White House statement.
Users of the app said goodbye and some filmed themselves frantically scrolling or sharing the latest secrets with their followers before the ban.
“Does anyone know if the TikTok ban will go into effect on Sunday or if we still have all Sunday to like rot our brains? I need to plan accordingly,” fitness influencer Britany Williams said in a video to her 64,000 followers.
Supreme Court justices upheld the ban Friday by unanimous decision.
Without a decision by Biden to formally invoke a 90-day delay in the deadline, companies that provide services to TikTok or host the app could face legal liability. It is unclear whether TikTok's business partners, including Apple, Alphabet's Google (NASDAQ ) and Oracle (NYSE ), will continue doing business with TikTok before Trump is inaugurated on Monday.
USERS MOVE TO ALTERNATIVES
Uncertainty about the app's future had caused mostly young users to look for alternatives, including China-based RedNote. Rivals Meta (NASDAQ and Snap also saw their shares rise this month ahead of the ban, as investors bet on an influx of users and advertising dollars.
Marketing companies that rely on TikTok scrambled to prepare contingency plans this week in what one executive described as a “hair on fire” moment after months of conventional wisdom saying a solution to keep the app going would materialize. in operation.
There have been signs that TikTok could make a comeback under Trump, who has said he wants to seek a “political resolution” to the issue and last month urged the Supreme Court to halt implementation of the ban.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the US presidential inauguration on Monday and sit among high-profile guests invited by Trump, a source told Reuters.
Suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth up to $50 billion. Media reports say Beijing has also held talks about selling TikTok's US operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, although the company has denied this.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock (NYSE and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each. It has more than 7,000 employees in the US.
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