TikTok stopped operating in the United States late Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google’s app stores before a law took effect Sunday shutting down the app used by 170 million Americans.
US President-elect Donald Trump said earlier in the day that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday, a promise TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, told users trying to use the app around 10:45 p.m. ET: “A law has been passed banning TikTok in the United States, and unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok at this time. We’re out of luck.” President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to bring TikTok back once he takes office.
Even if temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is expected to have a wide-ranging impact on US-China relations, US domestic politics, the social media market, and the millions of Americans who depend on the app economically and culturally. .
The United States has never banned any major social media platform. The law passed by Congress overwhelmingly gives the incoming Trump administration broad authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps.
Other ByteDance-owned apps, including video editing app Capcut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in US app stores as of late Saturday.
“The 90-day extension is something that will likely be implemented because it is appropriate,” Trump told NBC. “If I decide to do so, I will probably announce it on Monday.”
It was TikTok users who logged in late Saturday He met with a message He said the law “will force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We are working to restore our service in the United States as soon as possible.”
It was not clear if any US users could still access the app, but it no longer worked for many users, and people seeking to access it through a web app were met with the same message that TikTok was no longer working.
Andy Barrier, a technology and digital lifestyles expert, says the US ban on TikTok could trickle down to Canada. He advises Canadian TikTok creators to start migrating their audiences to other platforms. He also told BC Today host Michelle Elliott that the Canadian government should be more transparent about TikTok’s security issues, considering it was concerned enough to ban the platform on all government-issued devices.
The Chinese-owned app, which has captured the attention of nearly half of Americans, supported small businesses and shaped online culture, said on Friday that it would stop operating in the United States on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they will not… They face enforcement action when the ban takes effect.
Under a law passed last year and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, the platform has until Sunday to sever ties with China-based parent ByteDance or close its U.S. operations to resolve concerns that it poses a national security threat.
The White House confirmed on Saturday that it was up to the incoming administration to take action, raising the possibility that the service would be shut down on Sunday.
“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,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment on the new White House statement.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday accused the United States of using unfair state power to suppress TikTok. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests,” a spokesman said.
Users are flocking to alternatives
Uncertainty about the future of the app has prompted users, most of whom are young, to look for alternatives Including China-based RedNote. Rivals Meta and Snap also saw their shares rise this month before the ban, as investors bet on an influx of users and advertising dollars.
“This is my new home now,” one user wrote in a RedNote post, tagging it with the words “tiktokrefugee” and “sad.”
Minutes after TikTok shut down in the US, other users moved to X, which was previously called Twitter.
@RavenclawJedi wrote: “I really didn’t think they would cut TikTok. Now I’m sad and miss the friends I made there. Hopefully it will all come back in a few days.”
NordVPN, a popular virtual private network, or VPN, that allows users to access the Internet from servers around the world, said it was “experiencing temporary technical difficulties.”
Web searches for “VPN” spiked in the minutes after US users lost access to TikTok, according to Google Trends.
Users on Instagram have expressed concern about whether they will continue to receive merchandise they purchased from TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.
Marketing companies relying on TikTok scrambled to prepare contingency plans this week in what one executive described as a “hair on fire” moment after months of conventional wisdom that a solution would materialize to keep the app running.
Chinese social media app RedNote has been thrust into the spotlight after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform in protest against the short-form video app’s potential impending ban in the United States, which is set to take effect on Sunday. RedNote can “monitor or exploit users,” says technologist Jason Snyder, adding that the real danger comes from its “ability to control narratives.”
There have been signs that TikTok may be making a comeback under Trump, who has said he wants to pursue a “political solution” to the issue and urged the Supreme Court last month to temporarily halt implementation of the ban.
A source told Reuters that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew intends to attend the US President’s inauguration and attend a rally with Trump on Sunday.
Suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. Media reports say Beijing has also held talks about selling TikTok’s US operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, although the company has denied this.
US search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal on Saturday to ByteDance in order to merge Perplexity with TikTok US, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters. Perplexity will be merged with TikTok US and create a new entity by combining the combined company with other partners, the person added.
Privately held ByteDance is 60 percent owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20 percent each. It has more than 7,000 employees in the United States
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