“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S., so you can’t use the app for now. President Trump has said he will work on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office. Stay tuned!”
TikTok has gone offline in the US just before a new law banning the platform was set to take effect.
Users in the US are seeing a message on the app saying the ban is now in place, so TikTok cannot be used for now.
The ban was introduced due to concerns about TikTok’s connections to the Chinese government. The app had until January 19 to be sold to a US-approved buyer.
President Joe Biden had decided to let the next President, Donald Trump, handle the matter. Trump has said he will likely extend TikTok’s deadline by 90 days after taking office on Monday.
Former President Donald Trump told NBC News on Saturday that a 90-day extension is likely to happen because it seems appropriate. He added that if he decides to proceed, he will probably announce it on Monday.
Meanwhile, users reported that the TikTok app had been removed from Apple and Google’s U.S. app stores, and the TikTok.com website was no longer showing videos.
After the ban was enforced, a message appeared stating: “We are fortunate that President Trump has expressed willingness to work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law passed last April, which bans TikTok in the U.S. unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday. TikTok has argued that the law violates free speech rights for its 170 million users in the U.S.
After the ruling, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, thanked former President Trump for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution” and is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
As TikTok was about to go offline, many content creators posted farewell videos for their followers. Creator Nicole Bloomgarden mentioned that not being on TikTok would lead to a big salary cut. Another user, Erika Thompson, said the loss of educational content on the platform would be the “biggest loss” for the community.
On Saturday, users received a message saying that the law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable,” and the company is working to restore its service in the U.S. as soon as possible.