The switch has changed to block US TikTok. The TikTok app went offline and was removed from the App Store and Google Play on Saturday night, hours before the January 19 ban was expected to go into effect.
People who have previously installed the app are greeted with a pop-up. “Sorry, TikTok is not available right now,” it said. “A law banning TikTok has been passed in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok right now. We’re lucky that president Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to bring back TikTok once he’s in office. Please. Stay tuned.”
The notification offers the option to close the app or “read more,” which directs users to the TikTok website, which has the same language. Existing users can also download their data from the website. ByteDance’s popular video editing app, CapCut, is also no longer available in the US.
After the passage of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Entities Controlled Applications Act” by President Biden, TikTok had six months to separate itself from its Chinese parent company ByteDance. The company chose to fight the law, bringing a case to the Supreme Court complaining that its First Amendment rights were violated by the measure. The high court, with a limited amount of time to consider the case, ruled unanimously against the plan.
As part of the ban, Apple’s App Store, Google Play Store and any other app marketplace must remove TikTok or face a $5,000 fine for every US user who downloads the app. White House officials said earlier in the week that the ban would not be implemented during President Joe Biden’s last term, but TikTok said the government “failed to provide the necessary clarity and certainty to service providers essential to maintaining TikTok’s availability to more than 170 million Americans.”
Several attempts have been made to shut down TikTok in the US over espionage concerns, but this is the first time that one has stuck, at least temporarily. President-elect Donald Trump was a major supporter of the ban during his first term in office and, ironically, TikTok’s only hope of survival after his second inauguration. Earlier on Saturday, Trump told NBC News that he “might” give the company 90 days after taking office.
In the event of an extension, it is not clear what kind of plan the company might use to stay in the US after all. Perplexity AI has reportedly submitted a request to merge with TikTok’s stateside operations, CNBC report. Others, including investor Kevin O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame) have also made suggestions or expressed interest in purchasing the service.
Additional reporting by Karissa Bell.
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