TikTok ceased operations in the United States late Saturday, disappearing from Apple and Google’s app stores ahead of a law that takes effect on Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier in the day that he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day ban lift after he takes office on Monday, a promise that TikTok cited in a note to users of the app.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, told users trying to use the app around 10:45 p.m. ET: “A law banning TikTok has been passed in the United States. Unfortunately, this means you won’t be able to use TikTok for the time being. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok after he takes office.
Although temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, will have far-reaching effects on U.S.-China relations, U.S. domestic politics, the social media market and millions of Americans who are economically and culturally dependent on the app.
The United States has never banned a major social media platform. The law, passed overwhelmingly by Congress, gives the new Trump administration broad authority to ban or seek to sell other Chinese apps.
Other ByteDance apps, including video editing app Capcut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in U.S. app stores as of Saturday.
“The 90-day extension will most likely be done because it is reasonable,” Trump told NBC. “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
TikTok users who logged in late Saturday received a message saying the law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We are working to restore our service in the U.S. as quickly as possible.”
It wasn’t clear if US users could still access the app, but for many users it stopped working and people who tried to access it via a web application were faced with the same message that TikTok had stopped working.
Andy Baryer, a technology and digital lifestyle expert, says the U.S. ban on TikTok could spill over into Canada. He advises Canadian TikTok content creators to migrate their audiences to other platforms. He also tells BC Today host Michelle Eliot that the Canadian government should be more transparent about TikTok’s security issues since it was concerned enough to ban the platform on all government-issued devices.
The Chinese-owned app that has captivated nearly half of all Americans, powered small businesses and shaped online culture said Friday that the U.S. will go dark on Sunday when the administration of President Joe Biden doesn’t give companies like Apple and Google assurances that if a ban goes into effect, they won’t face enforcement action.
Under a law passed last year and upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court on Friday, the platform has until Sunday to cut ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or close its U.S. operations to address concerns that it represents a threat to national security.
The White House reiterated Saturday that it is up to the new administration to take action, increasing the likelihood of a shutdown on Sunday.
“We see no reason for TikTok or any other company to take any action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment on the White House’s new statement.
The Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday accused the US of using unfair state power to suppress TikTok. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” a spokesman said.
Users are flocking to alternatives
Uncertainty about the future of the app led younger users in particular to switch to alternatives such as RedNote from China. Shares of rivals Meta and Snap also rose this month ahead of the ban, as investors bet on an influx of users and advertising dollars.
“This is my new home now,” one user wrote in a RedNote post, tagged with the words “tiktokrefugee” and “sad.”
Minutes after TikTok shut down in the US, other users turned to X, formerly called Twitter.
“I didn’t really think they would shut down TikTok. Now I’m sad and miss the friends I made there. I hope everything comes back in a few days,” wrote @RavenclawJedi.
NordVPN, a popular virtual private network or VPN that allows users to access the Internet from servers around the world, said it was experiencing “temporary technical difficulties.”
Web searches for “VPN” spiked in the minutes after U.S. users lost access to TikTok, according to Google Trends.
Users on Instagram worried about whether they would still receive goods they had purchased on TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.
Marketing firms that rely on TikTok rushed to draw up contingency plans this week in a moment one executive described as “hair on fire” after months of widespread knowledge that there would be a solution to the app to keep going.
Chinese social media app RedNote has come into the spotlight after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform to protest a likely impending ban on the short-video app in the United States, which comes into effect on Sunday should occur. Technologist Jason Snyder says RedNote can “surveil or exploit users,” adding that the real danger lies in its “ability to control narratives.”
There were signs that TikTok could make a comeback under Trump. Trump said he wanted to seek a “political solution” to the problem and last month asked the Supreme Court to suspend implementation of the ban.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration on Sunday and attend a rally with Trump, a source told Reuters.
Suitors including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt have expressed interest in the fast-growing company, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. Media reports said Beijing has also held talks about selling TikTok’s US operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, although the company has denied this.
US search engine startup Perplexity AI on Saturday submitted an offer to ByteDance to merge Perplexity with TikTok US, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters. Perplexity would merge with TikTok US, creating a new entity by merging the combined company with other partners, the person added.
Privately held ByteDance is about 60 percent owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees each own 20 percent. The company employs more than 7,000 people in the USA
