The long-running drama between popular social media app TikTok and the US government has come to an end when TikTok agreed to raise the white flag from the war.
The company announced the closure of its operations in the country starting Sunday, following its failure to comply with legal demands requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to release assets in the US.
The closure, which affected 170 million US users, sparked widespread disappointment with the decision by ByteDance and the Supreme Court.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope when US President-elect Donald Trump stated that he was considering steps to maintain TikTok's operations in the US, with The Washington Post reporting that he intends to issue an executive order to delay the enforcement of the closure for 60 to 90 days.
Without swift action, users will face a black screen and a message that the app is being shut down.
It is not just American users who will feel the effects as this closure is expected to affect TikTok's global operations due to its reliance on US technology infrastructure.
TikTok warned that the ban would cause users to switch to other platforms, jeopardizing the future of its app.
ByteDance claims the asset sale lawsuit violates free speech rights, but is this enough to save TikTok from being buried in the US?
