TikTok will be shut down for now.
The popular video-sharing app used by 170 million Americans is scheduled to cease service late Saturday after TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company announced the service would be “temporarily unavailable.” Ta.
“We regret that the U.S. law banning TikTok goes into effect on January 19th and our service will be temporarily unavailable,” the company said in a message to users Saturday night.
“We're working to restore service in the U.S. as quickly as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please say we've adjusted.”
It was unclear exactly when the app would go down, as it was still running just after 9 p.m. New York time.
The announcement drew immediate reactions online, especially on X, where #SaveTikTok was trending.
“TikTok no!!!” one user posted a video of a woman screaming.
“TikTok is dead,” podcaster Ian Miles Chong posted on X shortly after the message popped up on the app.
“It's happening,” another user posted on X. “TikTok ban in the US is imminent, but I'm hopeful for #savetiktok.”
Another user posted on X: “Violating our right to free speech over hypotheticals that never happened will be the battle cry of the next revolution.” “170 million Americans are on TikTok, more than half the country. #scotus You better think again. Leave us alone.”
The app's future now rests in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday and vowed to “save” the app, which he credits with helping him win in November. I am doing it.
President Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he is “likely” to give TikTok a 90-day extension to finalize the deal.
President Trump said, “We need to carefully consider this.'' “It's a huge situation.”
TikTok's shutdown was widely expected after the Supreme Court upheld Congressional legislation requiring ByteDance to sell its stock by January 19 or face a nationwide ban.
TikTok unsuccessfully argued that the law was unconstitutional.
Scores of users, many of them children, who were trying to get dance videos and cooking hacks early Sunday morning were instead redirected to a website detailing the ban.
TikTok's apparent demise ends months of turmoil that began after Congress moved with bipartisan support to ban the app, citing national security concerns. TikTok and ByteDance maintained right before the deadline that their apps were not for sale, and Chinese authorities vowed to block any forced sale.
The law requires Google and Apple to stop allowing new downloads of TikTok through their app stores or face fines of $5,000 per user. Oracle, which provides cloud computing support to TikTok, could also be held liable.
Technically, it could continue to work for a short period of time for users who have already downloaded TikTok, but without software updates and support it would have stopped working and the service would have degraded over time.
In one of his final acts, Biden decided last week to leave enforcement of the law he signed to President Trump.
TikTok is forced to shut down because “President Biden's White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance that service providers essential to maintaining TikTok's availability will not be penalized.” He claimed that he no longer had any benefits.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok's plan to take it offline a “stunt.”
Meanwhile, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew deeply criticized the president-elect in a video released shortly after Friday's Supreme Court ruling, hinting that potential solutions were under consideration. I was grateful.
“We have a president who truly understands our platform, one who has used TikTok to express his thoughts and perspectives, connect with the world, and generate over 60 billion views of his content in the process. I am grateful and pleased to have the support of the President.
Chu ended the video by saying, “It's going to continue.”
President Trump also indicated that he intends to make further statements about the future of TikTik in the coming days.
“The Supreme Court's decision was expected and everyone must respect it,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. “My decision regarding TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I need time to consider the situation. Stay tuned!”
President Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order to delay enforcement of the law. However, it is unclear whether he has the legal standing to do so.
Chu is scheduled to attend President Trump's inauguration on Monday, along with other tech figures including Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He will be sitting on the dais alongside the giants.
TikTok's CEO has been trying to warm up to President Trump in recent weeks as the deadline for the sale approaches. After his election victory, he also met with President Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The Justice Department and US lawmakers have argued that the app is a spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party, capable of mass surveillance and data collection as well as swaying public opinion for nefarious purposes. There is.
TikTok vehemently denied the allegations.
On Friday, the Supreme Court unanimously sided with federal authorities.
“Congress has determined that the divestment is necessary to address well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries,” the justices said.
As The Post reported, the TikTok ban scandal has also affected other tech companies with business ties to ByteDance, including Amazon and Microsoft.
