TikTok is going dark in the US now that the ban-or-divest law passed last year is taking effect. The app is now gone from both Apple and Google’s app stores, it’s unavailable on the web, and users who open the app are blocked from viewing videos.
The shutdown has the astonishing effect of removing a social network used by 170 million people in the US, according to TikTok’s own numbers. While other social media platforms have experienced outages, even prolonged ones, no network so big has TikTok has simply shut down without any indication of if or when it will come back online.
This is despite the Biden administration saying it’s passing enforcement responsibilities on to the Trump administration and calling TikTok’s threat to go offline a “stunt.” TikTok has insisted that without clearer assurances, it has to close up shop in the US.
Inside TikTok, an email to employees said that “President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office” on January 20th and that “teams are working tirelessly to bring our app back to the U.S. as soon as possible.”
A warning message started appearing in two ByteDance apps, TikTok and CapCut, on Saturday evening around 9PM ET telling users of the pending shutdown. TikTok’s message read:
We regret that a US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19th and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable.
We’re working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.
Both apps began blocking users around 10:30PM ET. A message now appears in the apps saying they aren’t “available right now” but that the company expects a resolution under President-elect Trump. TikTok’s message says:
Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now
A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!
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Screenshot: The Verge
The ban-or-divest law, which goes into effect on Sunday, effectively bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells much of its stake in the company. But ByteDance has shown little sign of being willing to sell, even as the deadline rapidly approached. Instead, TikTok sued the US over the law, ultimately losing in a Supreme Court case this past week.
TikTok’s new strategy appears to be relentlessly pandering to Trump, who — despite initially calling for the TikTok ban — has recently indicated that he wants to find a way to keep it around. Earlier today, he floated a 90-day extension of ByteDance’s deadline to sell.
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