TikTok ban: The app shuts down in the US hours before a ban

CNN
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TikTok went offline in the US on Saturday night, less than two hours before a ban was set to take effect. The extraordinary blackout prevents access to one of the world’s most popular social media apps – one that had been used by 170 million Americans.

Visitors to the app were greeted with a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok is not available right now. A law banning TikTok has been passed in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

TikTok’s action comes after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ban that was passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law in April by President Joe Biden. The law prevents US companies from hosting or serving content to the Chinese-owned social media platform unless they sell themselves to a buyer from the US or one of its allies.

But TikTok may not be gone for long. The company suggested it could be back soon — perhaps as early as Monday.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office,” the company wrote in its pop-up message to users who opened the app that started late Saturday evening. “Please keep an eye out!”

Trump-elect said he will “most likely” delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days after he takes office on Monday, adding that he has not made a final decision in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday.

“I certainly think that would be an option that we’re looking at. The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We’re going to have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” Trump said in the interview.

“If I decide to do it, I will probably announce it on Monday,” he added.

The blackout from TikTok — and the suggestion that it could soon restore its service — is the latest twist in a saga that has dragged on for months, leaving the app’s fate in limbo.

The app has also disappeared from Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store. And other apps owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance — including CapCut — also displayed a similar message Saturday night.

Lawmakers said TikTok’s ties to China and its access to reams of data pose a threat to national security.

Many US users told CNN they were bracing for an end to the app, including influencers and other small businesses who said they depended on the platform for a living. Still, they said they hoped the app would somehow be saved.

But the Supreme Court’s decision dashed hopes of a last-second legal aid.

Some of the companies that run app stores and operate computer servers are said to be concerned that they will be held liable for violating the terms of the ban. Those service providers promised to stop carrying the app to avoid legal ramifications, a person familiar with the companies’ discussions told CNN.

Meanwhile, Trump — who first warned of TikTok’s dangers five years ago — is casting himself as the app’s savior. Earlier this month, on his Truth Social account, he posted statistics about his own popularity on TikTok and asked: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”

TikTok CEO Shou Chew has met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in the weeks leading up to the ban and is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Saturday.

The law, passed last year, allows the president to delay the ban from taking effect for 90 days, but requires proof that parties working to arrange a sale of TikTok to a US-owned company have made significant progress.

But TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has rejected potential buyers. The company has cited its popularity among US users and its value to small businesses across the country as it struggles to stay online without any change in ownership.

After the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to uphold the ban, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre signaled that the administration would not enforce the law on Biden’s last day in office.

Because of the federal holiday weekend and the inauguration, “actions to implement the law must simply fall to the next administration,” she said.

But TikTok wasn’t happy with that statement. According to a person familiar with the matter, some service providers — companies like Google and Apple that would face exorbitant fines for allowing the U.S. access to TikTok when the ban takes effect — told TikTok they believed they were vulnerable under the law as of Sunday.

A person close to TikTok says that “several critical service providers” indicated to TikTok that they would no longer carry the app or its data, forcing the app offline. The service providers cited fears that the ban could be enforced starting Sunday, despite signals to the contrary from the Biden administration.

So TikTok took action to remove the app — at least for now.

tmove, and the pop-up naming Trump, could put even more pressure on the president-elect to negotiate a settlement in the coming days or weeks.

TikTok employees were also told by the company on Saturday that the situation was “disappointing” but that the company was working on a solution.

“We know this is disappointing for you, not only as employees, but as users. However, we are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office. Please know that our teams are working tirelessly to bring our app back to the US as soon as possible,” the announcement to employees read.

A White House source reiterated to CNN that there will be no fines from the Biden administration associated with keeping TikTok active on Sunday.

At the same time, however, some Biden officials are content with TikTok going dark for a day, as the law was passed with strong bipartisan support.

The decision “will be made by the next president anyway,” Biden told reporters Friday.

On Saturday, the White House called TikTok’s warning to go dark a “stunt.”

“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” Jean-Pierre said. “We’ve made our position clear and straightforward: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should raise any concerns with them.”

A TikTok spokesperson had no immediate reaction to the statement from the White House.

The company said it expected service providers — like companies that run servers filled with videos — to restrict access to the app at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday.

In the Apple and Google app stores, the most popular free apps in the past week have been TikTok-like apps, including two that are also owned by Chinese companies. One of them, the photo-sharing app Lemon8, is owned by ByteDance, just like TikTok. But Lemon8 may suffer the same fate as TikTok in the future.

Given Trump’s public remarks about TikTok, any blackout may not last long.

Trump is said to be considering issuing an executive order that could effectively pause the ban and allow some time to find a long-term solution.

But he will face pressure from several directions. Some Republican senators, such as Josh Hawley of Missouri and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, continue to strongly support the ban.

“ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before Sunday’s deadline,” Cotton wrote on X. “The very fact that Communist China refuses to allow its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a Communist spy- app.”

Analyst Richard Greenfield of LightShed Partners, who has long followed the TikTok saga, expects that TikTok will ultimately remain online in the United States.

On Saturday, Perplexity AI, a San Francisco-based AI search engine startup, confirmed to CNN that it made an offer to ByteDance to merge with TikTok.