TikTok is not available in the US, and has disappeared from app stores

For the first time in internet history, the US government has officially banned a major global social media platform, joining the ranks of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. On Saturday, TikTok was officially banned. Users trying to access the app are now greeted with a message saying “TikTok is now unavailable.”

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office,” the letter adds. “Please stay tuned!”

It is the end result of congressional legislation Passed last year This would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the app’s US operations or face a nationwide ban. But unlike countries that regularly censor the Internet, the United States does not have a central infrastructure to block Americans from accessing specific apps or websites.

Instead, the law pressures Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, or risk accumulating millions of dollars in fines. The two companies appear to have removed TikTok and other apps owned by parent company ByteDance, as of Saturday. Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The law also prohibits companies from providing data hosting services to TikTok. Oracle reportedly counts TikTok as one of its largest cloud computing customers He started telling the employees to shut down the servers hosting TikTok’s US data on Saturday, according to The Information. Oracle did not immediately return a request for comment.

In May, TikTok and a group of American creators filed a motion to block the law from taking effect, saying it violates the First Amendment. supreme court unacceptable Those arguments were made in a unanimous ruling issued on January 17, concluding that the provision was motivated by “well-supported national security concerns.”

“It’s a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” says Evelyn Dweck, a professor at Stanford Law School who specializes in online speech issues. “Unfortunately for me, all nine Supreme Court justices disagree with that opinion, and almost everyone I care about will hear from them about mine. It is difficult to take national security justifications seriously, however, when in recent days it appears that presidents Former and future members of Congress weigh in on whether an immediate shutdown is necessary after all.

With days remaining until the deadline, President Biden has indicated that he will leave enforcement of the law to the incoming Trump administration. The move left the app’s fate in limbo, and TikTok urged the Biden administration on Saturday to provide final assurances that it would not enforce the law. In response, the Biden team suggested that TikTok raise its concerns with Trump.

On Blind, an anonymous messaging app popular with tech workers, some TikTok employees wondered whether they would have jobs next month, while others continued business as usual. “Is any other manager still holding meetings next week about upcoming new projects without acknowledging the ban at all?” one user wrote. “I have 2025 strategy meetings next week,” another user replied. “I’m just doing what I’m told. It’s comforting in a way.”