Customers who logged into TikTok Saturday evening have been greeted by a pop-up message concerning the ban taking impact.
WASHINGTON — TikTok has “gone darkish” within the U.S. simply earlier than a ban on the favored video-sharing platform was scheduled to enter impact on Sunday.
Round 10:30 p.m. Jap, customers who tried to open the app have been proven a message that TikTok “is not obtainable proper now” in the US.
“A regulation banning TikTok has been enacted within the U.S. Sadly, which means you may’t use TikTok for now,” the pop-up message, which prevented them from scrolling on movies, mentioned. “We’re lucky that President Trump has indicated that he’ll work with us on an answer to reinstate TikTok as soon as he takes workplace. Please keep tuned!”
Earlier within the night, because the clock ticked nearer to the ban taking impact, TikTok started warning customers it might be going darkish, not less than “briefly.”
Why is not TikTok working?
The Supreme Courtroom on Friday unanimously upheld the federal regulation banning TikTok except it’s offered by its China-based mother or father firm.
Congress final 12 months, in a regulation signed by President Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based mother or father firm ByteDance divest the corporate by Jan. 19, a day earlier than the presidential inauguration.
Whereas Biden’s administration has signaled it wasn’t going to implement the regulation on his final full day in workplace, TikTok had mentioned it wanted extra “readability and assurance to the service suppliers which are integral to sustaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million People.”
The corporate mentioned Friday it might in any other case “be pressured to go darkish on January 19.”
By 10:50pm Jap on Saturday, the app was not discovered on Apple and Google’s app shops, that are prohibited from providing the platform below the regulation.
When is TikTok coming again?
President-elect Donald Trump mentioned Saturday he “more than likely” will give TikTok 90 extra days to work out a deal that may enable the platform to keep away from a U.S. ban.
The earliest Trump might do something can be Monday afternoon, as soon as he takes workplace. The regulation permits the sitting president to increase the deadline by 90 days if a sale is in progress. Nonetheless, there’s been no indication a sale is being thought of.
ByteDance beforehand mentioned it might not promote, however TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is anticipated to attend Trump’s inauguration with a primary seating location.
What is going to occur to TikTok when it is banned?
Specialists had mentioned the way in which the regulation was written, present TikTok customers ought to have been in a position to proceed to have entry to the app however wouldn’t obtain updates, finally making it unworkable.
Nonetheless, the corporate mentioned its platform will go darkish and seems to have gone forward with that risk Saturday evening.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
