“Sorry, TikTok isn’t obtainable proper now,” the message learn.
Hours earlier than a federal law banning TikTok from the United States was set to take impact on Sunday, the Chinese language-owned social media app went darkish, and U.S. customers may now not entry movies on the platform. As a substitute, the app greeted them with a message that mentioned “a legislation banning TikTok has been enacted.”
“We’re lucky that President Trump has indicated that he’ll work with us on an answer,” the message mentioned. “Please keep tuned!”
TikTok additionally appeared to have been faraway from Apple and Google’s U.S. app shops, some customers mentioned. As well as, TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8, stopped working and confirmed U.S. customers a message saying that it “isn’t obtainable proper now.” Each TikTok and Lemon8 are owned by ByteDance, a Chinese language web big.
TikTok grew to become unavailable after the Supreme Court decision on Friday upholding the law, which requires ByteDance to promote the app by Sunday or in any other case face a ban. The legislation was handed overwhelmingly by Congress final yr and signed by President Biden. TikTok, which has confronted nationwide safety considerations for its Chinese language ties, had believed it may win its authorized problem to the legislation, however failed.
The blackout capped a chaotic stretch for TikTok, which had made last-minute pleas to each the Biden administration and President-elect Donald J. Trump for a means out of the legislation. Till Saturday night time, nobody — together with the U.S. authorities — was fully certain what would occur to it when the legislation took impact. The US has by no means blocked an app utilized by tens of hundreds of thousands of People basically in a single day.
The legislation has a provision to penalize app retailer operators like Apple and Google and web internet hosting firms like Oracle for distributing or sustaining the TikTok app. Below the legislation, these firms face penalties as excessive as $5,000 per person who can entry the app.
TikTok, Apple and Oracle didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. Google declined to remark.
For TikTok and ByteDance, the developments are a major blow. TikTok has roughly 170 million U.S. customers, who’re a number of the app’s most profitable clients. In authorized filings, TikTok has mentioned that even a brief disappearance may kneecap it, with customers and creators leaving for different platforms and by no means returning even when a ban was lifted.
The scenario was additional sophisticated by the legislation’s begin date falling within the remaining days of Mr. Biden’s presidency. A White Home spokeswoman instructed on Saturday that the Biden administration wouldn’t begin fining firms on Sunday.
“We see no motive for TikTok or different firms to take actions within the subsequent few days earlier than the Trump administration takes workplace on Monday,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, mentioned in an announcement. “We now have laid out our place clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this legislation will fall to the subsequent administration.”
Spokesmen for the White Home and the Division of Justice didn’t reply to requests for remark after TikTok went offline.
Mr. Trump mentioned on Saturday he would “probably” discover a technique to give TikTok a 90-day extension as soon as he takes workplace on Monday. The legislation offers the president the flexibility to increase the deadline for a sale provided that there’s “vital progress” towards a deal that might put TikTok within the arms of a non-Chinese language proprietor. It was not clear how that extension would possibly work if the ban had already taken impact.
Mr. Trump has additionally indicated he may signal an govt order to bypass the ban of the app. TikTok’s chief govt, Shou Chew, is expected to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
On Saturday, the mood on TikTok was somber. Alix Earle, a content material creator with 7.2 million followers who rose to fame on the app in 2022, posted tearful movies mourning the platform.
“I really feel like I’m going By way of heartbreak,” Ms. Earle wrote in one video. “This platform is greater than an app or a job to me. I’ve so many Reminiscences on right here. I’ve posted each day for the previous 6 years of my life. I’ve shared my associates, household, relationships, private struggles, secrets and techniques.”
Different customers spent their remaining moments on the app recreating viral dances. The “For You” web page crammed with montages of customers’ favourite tendencies and songs, many relationship again to the early days of the pandemic, when the app soared in reputation.
By 9 p.m. Jap on Saturday night time, TikTok was displaying U.S. customers a pop up message that mentioned the app would quickly cease working.
It mentioned the legislation would “pressure us to make our companies quickly unavailable.” Shortly thereafter, TikTok went darkish.
Late Saturday night, Ms. Earle discovered solace by showing on a rival social media platform: Instagram.
“I used to be simply not anticipating that for this Saturday night time,” she mentioned of what occurred to TikTok as she livestreamed on Instagram. RedNote, a Chinese language video app that has turn out to be common in latest days, wouldn’t turn out to be a long-term substitute, she mentioned.
“We’re simply gonna must make it just a little extra enjoyable on right here, that’s what I’m considering,” she mentioned of Instagram.
On Sunday morning in China, TikTok’s notification to U.S. customers that it might droop service was a trending subject on Weibo, a well-liked social media platform just like X.
“It is a darkish second within the growth of the web,” Hu Xijin, a former editor in chief of the state-run Global Times, wrote on Weibo. The US had set an instance for “your complete Western world” to silence voices on-line within the title of nationwide safety, he wrote.
Diao Daming, a professor of worldwide relations at Renmin College of China, known as TikTok “the primary huge take a look at that Trump 2.0 has to face.” Mr. Trump’s actions on TikTok may take a look at his relationship with “China hawks” in Washington, Mr. Diao wrote in a commentary printed on state media.
Claire Fu contributed reporting from Seoul. Nico Grant and Tripp Mickle contributed reporting from San Francisco. David McCabe contributed reporting from Washington.
