TikTok goes offline in the US hours before the ban takes effect

On By Littum

TikTok has gone offline in the US, just hours before a new law banning the platform was due to take effect.

A message displayed on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been passed, meaning “you can’t use TikTok for now”.

The video-sharing app was banned over concerns about its links to the Chinese government and had been given a January 19 deadline to be sold to an approved US buyer.

President Joe Biden had said he would leave the issue to his successor, Donald Trump. Trump has said he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban when he takes office on Monday.

“The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done because it’s appropriate,” Trump said NBC News Saturday.

“If I decide to do it, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”

Users reported that the app had also been removed from both Apple and Google’s US app stores, and TikTok.com was not showing videos.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office,” read the message, which appeared after the ban took effect.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law passed last April that banned the app in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sold the platform by Sunday, which it has not done.

TikTok has argued that the law infringes on freedom of expression for its 170 million users in the country.

After the ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appealed to Trump, thanking him for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution.”

Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

In the hours up to the social media platform that goes offlinehad content creators put up videos to say goodbye to their followers.

Creator Nicole Bloomgarden told the BBC that not being on TikTok would result in a significant pay cut.

Another user, Erika Thompson, said educational content on the platform would be the “biggest loss” for the community.

TikTok users were met with a message earlier on Saturday that said the law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We are working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible.”