TikTok went offline across the United States just hours before a new law banning the platform officially came into effect. Users in the US were greeted with a message on the app, stating that the ban had been enacted, which meant “you can’t use TikTok for now.”
The message added: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
The platform’s shutdown follows warnings from TikTok that it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration provided assurances that the ban would not be enforced.
President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after his inauguration on Monday. He told NBC News on Saturday, “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
As of Saturday evening, TikTok had been removed from Apple and Google’s US app stores, and the platform’s website, TikTok.com, was no longer displaying videos.
The White House commented on the situation, leaving the decision to the incoming administration. “We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, which had been passed in April of last year. The law bans TikTok in the US unless its parent company, ByteDance based in China sells the platform. ByteDance has not complied with this requirement.
TikTok has pushed back against the legislation, arguing that it violates free speech protections for its 170 million US users. After the court’s ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appealed to President-elect Trump, thanking him for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution.” Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
In the lead-up to the shutdown, content creators flooded the platform with farewell messages to their followers. TikTok users were also met with a message on Saturday that read,“The law will force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible.”
The app’s sudden absence leaves its millions of users and creators waiting anxiously for updates on whether the platform can resume operations under the incoming administration.
