“Sorry, TikTok isn’t accessible proper now,” the message learn.
Hours earlier than a federal law banning TikTok from the United States took 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!”
As well as, TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8, stopped working and confirmed U.S. customers a message saying that it “isn’t accessible proper now.” Each TikTok and Lemon8 are owned by ByteDance, a Chinese language web large. CapCut, a well-liked video-editing app from ByteDance, was additionally unavailable.
Apple mentioned it had eliminated TikTok and different ByteDance apps, together with Lemon8, from its app retailer, and customers mentioned that Google’s U.S. app retailer had additionally eliminated TikTok. Trying to find the apps on Apple’s app retailer on Sunday yielded a brand new message: “TikTok and different ByteDance apps are usually not accessible within the nation or area you’re in.”
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 issues 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 completely certain what would occur to it when the legislation took impact. The USA has by no means blocked an app utilized by tens of thousands and 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 consumer who can entry the app.
TikTok 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 among the app’s most profitable prospects. 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 ultimate days of Mr. Biden’s presidency. A White Home spokeswoman advised on Saturday that the Biden administration wouldn’t begin fining firms on Sunday.
“We see no cause 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’ve got laid out our place clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this legislation will fall to the subsequent administration.”
A spokesman for the White Home didn’t reply to a request for remark after TikTok went offline. The Division of Justice declined to remark.
Mr. Trump mentioned on Saturday he would “almost certainly” discover a approach to give TikTok a 90-day extension as soon as he takes workplace on Monday, and posted a declaration on the social media platform Reality Social on Sunday that learn, “SAVE TIKTOK!” The legislation provides the president the flexibility to increase the deadline for a sale provided that there’s “important 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.
It’s “actually open to debate and litigation, whether or not that’s doable after the legislation goes into impact,” mentioned Sarah Kreps, the director of the Tech Coverage Institute at Cornell College. “We’re in additional uncharted authorized territory.”
Mr. Trump has additionally indicated he may signal an govt order to avoid the ban of the app. TikTok’s chief govt, Shou Chew, is expected to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Mr. Trump publicly modified his stance on TikTok in March, after his personal effort to dam the corporate in the USA in 2020.
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 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 day-after-day for the previous 6 years of my life. I’ve shared my mates, household, relationships, private struggles, secrets and techniques.”
Daniel Daks, the chief govt of Palette Media, an company that represents greater than 230 social media stars, mentioned that he assembled a “struggle room Zoom” with about 30 of his staff late Saturday night time to solutions questions as they flooded in.
“I’m talking with tons of various creators, lots of whom I’ve labored with for 5 years and signed whereas they have been working in locations like IHOP or Starbucks,” he wrote in a textual content message shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday. “I’m reassuring them that all the pieces will likely be OK.”
Different customers spent their ultimate moments on the app recreating viral dances. The “For You” web page stuffed with montages of customers’ favourite developments and songs, many courting again to the early days of the pandemic, when the app soared in recognition.
By 9 p.m. Japanese on Saturday, TikTok was exhibiting U.S. customers a pop up message that mentioned the app would quickly cease working. That unique message didn’t point out Mr. Trump.
It mentioned the legislation would “power us to make our companies briefly 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 change into in style in latest days, wouldn’t change into a long-term substitute, she mentioned.
“We’re simply gonna need to make it a little bit 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 much 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 USA had set an instance for “your entire Western world” to silence voices on-line within the identify of nationwide safety, he wrote.
Diao Daming, a professor of worldwide relations at Renmin College of China, referred to as TikTok “the primary large check that Trump 2.0 has to face.” Mr. Trump’s actions on TikTok may check 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.
