TikTok suddenly stopped working in the United States late Saturday and disappeared from both Apple and Google app stores. This came just before a law was set to take effect on Sunday, mandating the app’s shutdown.
President-elect Donald Trump had mentioned earlier in the day that he would likely grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban once he assumes office on Monday.
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, told users attempting to use the app 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 apps owned by ByteDance, such as Capcut and Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in U.S. app stores by late Saturday.
Trump expressed that the 90-day extension was probable and appropriate, and that he would announce any decision on Monday. It remained unclear if U.S. users could still access the app, as many reported that TikTok was no longer functional and attempting to access it through a web application led to the same outcome.
CREEBHILLS recalls that TikTok warned on Friday that it would go dark in the U.S. on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies such as Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect.
