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TikTok told its 170 million US users on Saturday that it would be unavailable “temporarily” after a deadline passed by Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell a stake in the app or face a ban.
In a popup that appears when users open the short-form video app, the company wrote, “We are sorry that the US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to temporarily disable our services.”
“We are working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support,” he added. Please stay tuned.” The app is otherwise still working for users.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court ordered ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban on Sunday, a law passed by Congress last year amid concerns in Beijing that the platform could be used for espionage or propaganda.
On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he would grant a 90-day extension when he enters the White House on Monday.
But the law bans companies like Apple, Google and Oracle from offering services to distribute or host the video app starting at midnight, or face a fine of $5,000 per user.
At the end of Friday, TikTok announced that statements from the White House and the Department of Justice failed to provide the necessary transparency and assurance to service providers necessary to maintain TikTok’s presence in the United States, and without a “certain statement to satisfy the most critical service providers, TikTok will go into the dark on January 19.” He will be forced.
This is a growing story.
