TikTok has been kept in the dark in the US. That's the effect of a federal law that bans the short-form video app, popular with millions of Americans, at least for now.
TikTok users began receiving messages about the ban around 10:30 p.m. ET. As of Saturday evening, the app is also no longer available in the Apple or Google Play app stores.
“We're sorry, but TikTok is currently unavailable,” the company's message reads. “A law has been enacted to ban TikTok in the United States. Unfortunately, you will not be able to use TikTok at this time.”
The message also suggests that this may be only a temporary disappearance. TikTok is praising President-elect Donald Trump's statement that he will “work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back after he takes office,” and is urging users to “stay tuned!”
The company warned earlier this week that the app's demise was imminent, and said Friday that the app would “go into darkness” unless President Joe Biden's administration makes a “definitive statement” that it would not enforce the ban. .
Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate last April passed legislation that would require TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the app or have it banned in the U.S., citing concerns about possible Chinese surveillance. , and Mr. Biden immediately signed the bill. Additionally, efforts to force ByteDance to sell date back to the first Trump administration, but Trump has taken a different stance recently. President Trump asked the Supreme Court to extend the ban, saying he “likely” would grant the company a 90-day extension.
The Supreme Court ruled Friday upholding the law. And the Biden administration appears inclined to leave the fate of the app in the hands of the next president. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the law would go into effect shortly before Trump's inauguration on Monday, so “action to implement the law should be left to the incoming administration.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued a similar statement, saying, “The next phase of this effort, enforcing the law and ensuring compliance after it goes into effect on January 19, will be a slow process. Probably.''
However, TikTok suggested that this is not a sufficient guarantee for “critical service providers” to continue listing or hosting the app in the US unless the Biden administration makes the aforementioned “definitive statement.” . Jean-Pierre called TikTok's response a “stunt” and argued that “there is no reason for TikTok or any other company to take action in the days leading up to the Trump administration's inauguration on Monday.”
Stunt or not, TikTok is dead for now.
As for the app's long-term prospects, Trump said he intended to “negotiate a resolution” that would likely involve a sale or other concessions from ByteDance, but ByteDance is not interested in a sale. However, he seems optimistic about the outlook under the Trump administration. A number of potential buyers have thrown their hats into the ring, from billionaire Frank McCourt, who made the “people's bid,” to Perplexity AI, which proposed a merger.
There have even been reports suggesting that the Chinese government is considering a sale to Elon Musk as part of a broader deal with the Trump administration. A TikTok spokesperson called the report “pure fiction.”
Meanwhile, Chinese-owned alternatives like RedNote and Lemon8 are gaining traction as TikTok users search for alternatives.