TikTok warns app will be unavailable in US on Sunday due to pending ban

On By Littum

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TikTok is notifying users that the social media app will be temporarily unavailable due to the upcoming US ban that will take effect on Sunday.

Users logging in were greeted with a pop-up message that read “Important update from TikTok,” warning that the soon-to-be-implemented US law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We are working on to restore our service in the United States as soon as possible.” Users on Saturday were still able to click through the message and operate the app.

The countdown until the social media app goes dark is almost a given according to the US Supreme Court unanimously voted Friday to uphold Congress’s ban unless the app sells its US assets by January 19. President Joe Biden said he would not enforce the ban, leaving it to President-elect Donald Trump, whose inauguration is set for Monday, who told NBC News he expects “most likely” to implement a 90-day hold.

“We regret that a US law banning TikTok will go into effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable,” the pop-up reads. “We are working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”

The social media platform is still operating in the US as of Saturday at 9 p.m. ET, though its fate remains unclear.

The ban on TikTok, which has 170 million US users, stems from national security concerns raised by US officials about the level of control the Chinese government has over the company.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based private global company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. About 60% of the parent company is owned by global institutional investors, 20% by the company’s founders and 20% by employees, according to TikTok.

This story has been updated to fix a typo.

Starring: Jonathan Limehouse, Mike Snider, Greta Cross, Clare Mulroy, Maureen Groppe & Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY