TikTok said it will be “forced to go dark” on Sunday, Jan. 19, unless it receives a “definitive statement” from the outgoing Biden administration that the app’s tech partners won’t be penalized under the divest-or-ban bill.

TikTok plans to keep paying U.S. employees even if the Supreme Court does not overturn a law that would force the sale of the short-video app in the U.S. or ban it, the company's leadership said in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court rejected TikTok's appeal to halt a law banning the app in the U.S. unless Chinese parent ByteDance sells its stake by Jan. 19.

The TikTok community faces an uncertain future. However, one thing remains clear: tax laws apply regardless of the app’s fate.