TikTok is no longer accessible to users in the U.S., the result of a controversial law forcing the popular platform offline unless it splits away from its China-based owner, ByteDance.
When users tried to open the app around 10:35 p.m. ET, a message appeared: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” it read. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
The message then said President-elect Donald Trump has promised to “work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Around the same time, TikTok also stopped appearing on the Apple and Google Play app stores, preventing the app to be downloaded and cutting the app from from critical software updates.
It represents the first time in history the U.S. government has outlawed a widely popular social media network.
The TikTok ban could be short lived, however.
Trump said Saturday he will “most likely” give the app a 90-day reprieve once he assumes office on Monday.
Such an extension is allowed under the law, though it does require a legally binding certification to Congress that steps toward divesting from ByteDance are in motion.
The law, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, directed Apple and Google to remove the service from app stores. It also required web-hosting firms, including TikTok’s back-end cloud provider, Oracle, to stop supporting the app or face penalties that could reach into the billions of dollars.
It remains to be seen how long the service will remain offline, but the development has drawn criticism from free speech advocates, who said it amounts to the kind of government censorship America often condemns on the global stage.
Peoplesmind
