Tik Tok It’s getting dark in the United States Now that the ban or divestment law passed last year has entered into force. The app has been removed from the Apple and Google app stores, is not available on the web, and users who open the app are prevented from watching videos.
The shutdown had the stunning effect of taking down a social network used by 170 million people in the United States, according to TikTok’s own numbers. While other social media platforms have seen outages, even for extended periods, no network as large as TikTok has simply shut down with no indication of if or when it will come back online.
This comes despite the Biden administration saying it is shifting enforcement responsibilities to the Trump administration and calling TikTok’s threat to go offline a “stunt.” TikTok insisted that without clearer safeguards, it would have to close its US store.
Inside TikTok, a memo to employees stated that “President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office” on January 20 and that “teams are working tirelessly to bring our app back to the United States.” as soon as possible.”
A warning message began appearing in the TikTok app around 9 p.m. ET on Saturday night informing users of the upcoming shutdown:
We’re sorry that the US law banning TikTok will go into effect on January 19th and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable.
We are working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay informed.
The app began blocking users around 10:30 PM ET. A message now appears stating that the app is “now unavailable” but the company expects a decision under President-elect Trump:
Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable
A law has been passed banning TikTok in the United States, and unfortunately, this means that you cannot use TikTok at the moment.
We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office. Please stay tuned!
Several other apps owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, were also removed, including video editor CapCut and social media platform Lemon8.
The embargo or divestment law, which takes effect Sunday, effectively bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells much of its stake in the company. But ByteDance has shown little sign of being ready to sell, even as the deadline quickly approaches. Instead, TikTok sued the United States over the law, ultimately losing a case in the Supreme Court last week.
The political hot potato game, where no one wants to be seen as responsible for banning TikTok, suggests that the app may not disappear forever. But with no specific plan coming from Biden, Trump, ByteDance, or TikTok, it is unclear exactly how long the ban could last.
