 "TikTok goes dark for 170 million users in US, pins hope on Trump's extension")
After a long legal and political tussle, the popular video-sharing app TikTok finally went offline in the United States. The app went down to 170 million users hours after the law banning the platform was due to come into effect. On Saturday night, when the users tried to open the app, a message appeared for US users that said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning “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,” the app said in an alert to its users. TikTok went offline a day after the social media app said that it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban would not be enforced.
Meanwhile, incoming US President Donald Trump said that he will “most likely” give the app a 90-day reprieve from a ban once he takes office on Monday. This is the first time in the United States that a social media platform as big as TikTok has simply shut down without any indication of if or when it will come back online. The app has been under scrutiny because its parent company is a Chinese firm called ByteDance.
App removed from app stores
According to The Verge, the app suddenly disappeared from both Apple and Google’s app stores. Multiple users also reported that it was unavailable on the web as well. Just hours before the app went offline, US President Joe Biden’s administration called TikTok’s threat to go offline a “stunt.” The outgoing team also handed over the responsibility to impose the law on the incoming Trump administration.
As per the report, the social media platform also shared an email to its employees, sharing the news of the shutdown. “President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office” on January 20th and that “teams are working tirelessly to bring our app back to the U.S. as soon as possible.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAnother app called CapCut, which is owned by ByteDance was also shut down with a warning message. Both apps began blocking users at around 10:30 PM (local time). The ban-or-divest law, which goes into effect on Sunday, effectively bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells much of its stake in the company. However, the China-based firm has shown little sign of being willing to sell, even as the deadline rapidly approaches. Instead, TikTok challenged the law in the Supreme Court which ultimately upheld the ban.
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