TikTok Shuts Down In U.S. Ahead Of Ban

TikTok went offline in the United States on Saturday night, less than two hours before a ban was slated to take effect.

The blackout prevented access to the social media app that had been used by 170 million Americans.

Visitors to the app were met with a message reading, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

TikTok’s action came after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ban that was passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law in April by President Joe Biden.

The law prevented American companies from hosting or serving content for the Chinese-owned social media platform unless it sold itself to a buyer from the United States or one of its allies.

But TikTok may not be gone for long, the company suggested it could be back soon, perhaps as early as Monday.

“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 company posted in its pop-up message to users who opened the app beginning late Saturday night.

“Please stay tuned!”

Trump, who first warned against TikTok’s dangers five years ago is now casting himself as the app’s savior.

Earlier this month, on his Truth Social account, he posted stats about his own popularity on TikTok and asked, “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”

TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew has met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in the weeks leading up to the ban taking effect and is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

President-elect Trump said he will “most likely” delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days after he takes office on Monday, adding that he has not made a final decision in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday.

“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” Trump said in the interview.

“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday,” he added.

The blackout from TikTok and the suggestion that it could soon restore its service was the latest twist in a saga that’s dragged on for months, leaving the fate of the app in limbo.

The app also has disappeared from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store, including other apps owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

Lawmakers said TikTok’s ties to China and its access to reams of data posed a threat to national security.

Many US users said they were bracing for an end to the app, including influencers and other small businesses that said they depended on the platform for a living.

But the Supreme Court’s decision dashed hopes of a last-second judicial assist.