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TikTok told its 170 million US users on Saturday that it will no longer be available “temporarily” after a deadline expires for its Chinese parent ByteDance to sell its stake in the app or face a ban.
In a pop-up that appears as users open the short-form video app, the company wrote: “We regret that a US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and will force our services to be temporarily unavailable.”
It added: “We are working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.” Otherwise the app is still working for users.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law passed by Congress last year that would have required ByteDance to sell the platform or face nationwide bans on Sunday, amid concerns that Beijing could operate the platform for espionage or propaganda.
On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he would “probably” issue a 90-day extension of the deadline when he arrives at the White House on Monday.
However, the law will ban companies like Apple, Google and Oracle from providing services to distribute or host video apps from midnight or face a fine of $5,000 per user.
Late Friday, TikTok said the statement from the White House as well as the Justice Department “fails to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability in the United States” and “except” a specific statement to satisfy the most important service providers that enforcement By promising not to, TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.
This is a developing story.
