Hours before a ban is scheduled to take effect, TikTok goes offline in the US.
Hours before a ban is scheduled to take effect, TikTok goes offline in the US.
Just hours before a new rule that would have banned the app was set to take effect, TikTok went offline in the United States. For US users, the app displayed a notice stating that "you can't use TikTok for now" due to a law that had been passed.
"We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office," it continued. The social media site issued a warning that it will "go dark" on Sunday unless the departing Biden administration promised that the ban would not be implemented. When he takes office on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump has stated that he will "most likely" grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban.
Users complained that TikTok.com was not displaying videos and that the app had been deleted from the US app stores of Google and Apple.
"The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done, because it's appropriate," Trump said on Saturday in an interview with NBC News.
"If I decide to do that, I'll probably announce it on Monday."
The White House stated that action must be taken by the next government.
In a statement, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, "We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday."
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law enacted in April last year that bans the app in the U.S. unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday—a deadline that has not been met.
TikTok has contended that the law infringes on the free speech rights of its 170 million users in the U.S.
Following the ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reached out to Trump, expressing gratitude for his "dedication to collaborating with us to find a resolution."
Chew is expected to be present at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
As the platform prepared to go offline, many content creators posted farewell messages to their followers. Creator Nicole Bloomgarden mentioned that losing access to TikTok would result in a substantial reduction in her income. Another user, Erika Thompson, highlighted that the loss of educational content would be a significant blow to the community. On Saturday, TikTok users encountered a message stating that the law necessitated a temporary suspension of services, but the company is striving to resume operations in the U.S. promptly.
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