TikTok goes dark in the US

TikTok has gone dark in the US, the result of a federal law banning the popular short-form video app for millions of Americans — at least for now.

TikTok users started getting a message about the ban around 10:30 PM Eastern. As of Saturday evening, the app was no longer available on the Apple or Google Play app stores.

“Sorry, TikTok is not available right now,” the message read. “Unfortunately the United States has passed a law banning TikTok, which means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

The message also suggests that this may only be a temporary disappearance. TikTok credits President-elect Donald Trump for indicating that “he will work with us on solutions to restore TikTok once he takes office,” urging users to “stay connected!”

The company warned earlier this week that the app’s demise was imminent, Friday saying it will “get dark.” Unless President Joe Biden’s administration makes a “specific statement” that it will not implement the ban.

Biden signed the law in April, citing concerns about potential Chinese surveillance and propaganda that would require TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the app or see it banned in the US. And while efforts to force ByteDance’s removal go back to Trump’s first administration, he has recently taken a very different tone. Trump Asking the Supreme Court to delay the ban And he said “probably” Give the company an extension of 90 days.

And at that time the Supreme Court issued the rule The law came into force on FridayBiden leaned on the administration Leave the app’s fate in the hands of the next president. White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre noted that with Sunday being Biden’s last day in office, “steps to implement the law will fall solely to the next administration.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued a similar statement saying that “the next step in this effort — enforcing and ensuring compliance with the law after it takes effect on Jan. 19 — will be a process that will play out over time.”

TikTok, however, suggested that this is not enough to assure “critical service providers” to continue listing or hosting the app in the US, unless the Biden administration makes the aforementioned “specific statement”. Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s response “a stunt” and claimed there was “no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.”

Stunt or not, TikTok is gone for now.