TikTok ceased operations in the United States late Saturday and was removed from both Apple and Google app stores in anticipation of a law that is set to take effect on Sunday, mandating the app’s shutdown, which is utilized by 170 million Americans.
President-elect Donald Trump indicated earlier in the day that he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day extension from the ban following his inauguration on Monday, a commitment that TikTok referenced in a message to its users.
The app, owned by China’s ByteDance, informed users attempting to access it around 10:45 p.m. ET (0345 GMT): “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.”
Additionally, other applications owned by ByteDance, such as the video editing tool Capcut and the lifestyle social platform Lemon8, were also offline and inaccessible in U.S. app stores as of late Saturday.
“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump stated in an interview with NBC. “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
It remains uncertain whether any U.S. users could still access the app, but many reported that it was no longer functional, and those attempting to use it via a web application encountered the same notification indicating that TikTok was no longer operational.
TikTok, which has engaged nearly half of the American population, supported small businesses, and influenced online culture, cautioned on Friday that it would cease operations in the U.S. on Sunday unless the Biden administration provided assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they would not face enforcement actions when the ban is implemented.
According to a law enacted last year and upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Friday, the platform must sever ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or shut down its U.S. operations by Sunday to address concerns regarding national security threats.
