New York: After a new law enforcing a ban on TikTok came into force in the United States on Sunday, the popular video-sharing app went offline in the country. It was also removed from the Google Play Store and App Store, the Associated Press reported.
Several social media users shared screenshots of the app, which has over 170 million users in the US, showing message on the platform stating that a law banning TikTok had been enacted. The message read, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
🚨 TikTok has officially shut down in the United States. pic.twitter.com/9q2gsesomm
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 19, 2025
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” it states.
Me being one of about 15 people in the country without a TikTok watching everyone else in the country melting down with ITS GONE without their TikTok:#TikTok #TikTokBan #ItsGone #Okay #ThisIsFine pic.twitter.com/QOTvm4aMim
— Jason Stiff (@JasonStiff) January 19, 2025
The app gives the option to users either to close the app or click another option that led them to the platform’s website, from where they could download their data, which TikTok earlier said may take days to process, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier, the company had said in another message to users that its service would be “temporarily unavailable.” It had told the users that it was working to restore its US service “as soon as possible.”
On Saturday, the Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok in the US on grounds of national security if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it. US President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he “most likely” would give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal.
A law passed by Congress and signed by US President Joe Biden last year gave TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension to the company if a sale process is in underway.
