TikTok stopped working in the United States late Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google’s app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday to shut 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 made in a notice posted to users of the app.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, told users who tried to use the app around 10:45 p.m. ET: “A law has been passed in the US that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We’re happy that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office, stay tuned.”
Even if temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, should 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 a major social media platform. The law passed by an overwhelming majority in Congress gives the new Trump administration the power to ban or require 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 most likely be done because it’s appropriate,” Trump told NBC. – If I decide to do so, I will probably announce it on Monday.
TikTok users who logged in late Saturday were met with a message which 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.”
It wasn’t clear if any US users could still access the app, but it no longer worked for many users and people who wanted to access it via the web app were met with the same message that TikTok is no longer working.
Andy Baryer, a technology and digital lifestyle expert, says the US ban on TikTok could reach Canada. He advises Canadian TikTok creators to start migrating their audiences to other platforms. He also told BC Today host Michelle Eliot that the Canadian government should be more transparent with TikTok’s security issues, given that it was concerned enough to ban the platform on all government-issued devices.
The Chinese-owned app, which has won over nearly half of all Americans, launched small businesses and shaped online culture, announced Friday that it will stop operating in the U.S. on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration gives assurances to companies like Apple and Google that will not 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 cut ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or shut down its US operation to address concerns it poses a threat to national security. .
The White House reiterated on Saturday that it was up to the new administration to take action, increasing the likelihood of a shutdown 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 statement from the White House.
The Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday accused the US of using unfair state power to crack down on TikTok. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesman said.
Users are flocking to alternatives
Uncertainty about the app’s future has forced users, mostly younger people, to look for alternatives including China’s RedNote. Rivals Meta and Snap also saw their shares rise this month ahead of 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, tagged with the words “tiktokrefugee” and “sad.”
Minutes after TikTok shut down in the US, other users switched to X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I didn’t really think they would end TikTok. Now I’m sad and missing the friends I made there. I hope everything will be back in just a few days,” wrote @RavenclawJedi.
NordVPN, the popular virtual private network, or VPN, which allows users to access the Internet from servers around the world, said it was “experiencing temporary technical difficulties.”
Web searches for “VPN” spiked minutes after US users lost access to TikTok, according to Google Trends.
Instagram users were worried about whether they would still receive the goods they bought on the TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.
Marketing companies that rely on TikTok rushed to prepare contingency plans this week in what one executive described as a “hair on fire” 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 to protest a likely immediate ban on the short video app in the United States, which is set to take effect on Sunday. Technologist Jason Snyder says RedNote could ‘monitor or exploit users’, adding that the real danger comes with its ‘ability to control the narrative.’
There have been signs that TikTok could make a comeback under Trump, who has said he wants to pursue a “political solution” to the problem and last month urged the Supreme Court to pause enforcement of the ban.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the inauguration of the US president and attend a rally with Trump on Sunday, a source told Reuters.
Suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in the fast-growing business, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. Media reports said Beijing was also in talks to sell TikTok’s US operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, although the company has denied this.
American search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted an offer to ByteDance on Saturday to merge Perplexity with TikTok US, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters. Perplexity would merge with TikTok US and create a new entity by merging the combined company with other partners, the person added.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60 percent owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees each own 20 percent. It has more than 7,000 employees in the US
