It was unclear on Sunday whether TikTok could still be used in the United States, with the company claiming that outgoing President Joe Biden's administration needed to provide "clear" assurances that it would not enforce the ban.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States if the app's owner, ByteDance, does not sell TikTok. With the sale unlikely to be completed two days before the law takes effect (ByteDance has repeatedly insisted it won't be sold), it looks like TikTok will disappear from the App Store on Sunday, January 19.

There are reports that it may also stop working entirely, as US companies will be banned from providing services that support the distribution, maintenance or updates of the app.

However, January 19 is also the day before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, and the incoming president has asked the Supreme Court to delay the injunction so that he can "negotiate a resolution to save the platform."

While the court disagreed with the delay, the Biden administration also appears inclined to leave TikTok's fate in Trump's hands. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Friday that Biden's position has not changed that "TikTok should remain available to Americans, but only if it is owned by the United States or "Other ownership can address national security concerns identified by Congress." Given the timing, however, Jean-Pierre said, "action to implement this law must be the responsibility of the next administration." "

Likewise, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement that “the next phase of this work — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it takes effect on January 19 — It will be a process that unfolds over time.”

However, TikTok responded and issued its own statement, suggesting that this was not enough for the company and other service providers to continue offering the TikTok app. In TikTok’s view, Biden and the Justice Department “failed to provide necessary clarity and assurances to service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to more than 170 million Americans.”

The company added, "Unless the Biden administration provides an immediate and clear statement to satisfy the most critical service providers and ensure that they are not enforced, TikTok will be forced to shut down on January 19."

Following TikTok's comments, Jean-Pierre described the company's announcement as a "stunt" and said the government saw "no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday."

This article has been updated to reflect additional comments from the White House, as well as reports that TikTok may be shut down entirely in the United States, rather than just removed from the app store.