The app went offline in the United States late Saturday. It was subsequently removed from both Apple’s and Google’s app stores in anticipation of a law that takes effect on Sunday that affects an app used by 170 million Americans.
Earlier today, President-elect Trump indicated that he would “most likely” offer this reprieve after taking office, a commitment that TikTok highlighted in a notice to its users. Owned by China’s ByteDance, TikTok notified users at approximately 10:45 pm ET (3:45 am GMT) with the message:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. 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.”
In addition to TikTok, other ByteDance-owned apps, including the video editing app Capcut and the lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable on U.S. app stores as of late Saturday.
Trump told NBC, “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
While it remains unclear if any U.S. users could still access the app, many found that TikTok was no longer working, and those attempting to use the web version encountered the same shutdown message.
TikTok, which has captivated nearly half of the American population, significantly impacted small businesses and online culture. The platform warned on Friday that it would go dark in the U.S. on Sunday unless the current administration provided assurances to companies such as Apple and Google that they would not face enforcement actions when the ban takes effect.
Under a law passed last year—and upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court decision on Friday—the platform has until Sunday to either sever ties with its China-based parent ByteDance or discontinue its U.S. operations in order to address national security concerns.
The White House reiterated on Saturday that any further action was now in the hands of the incoming administration. “We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
On Friday, the Chinese embassy in Washington accused the United States of abusing its governmental power to unfairly target TikTok.
A spokesperson for the embassy stated, “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
