TikTok goes dark for US users ahead of Trump’s inauguration

The prohibition follows months of ineligible battles and heightened scrutiny implicit the fashionable app’s Chinese ownership.

Millions of TikTok users successful the United States are nary longer capable to ticker videos connected the societal media level arsenic a national prohibition connected the fashionable app takes effect.

The recently enacted US instrumentality prohibiting the usage of the level came into effect connected Sunday, a time earlier the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The prohibition followed months of ineligible battles and heightened scrutiny implicit TikTok’s Chinese ownership.

“A instrumentality banning TikTok has been enacted successful the US,” said a connection to users attempting to usage the app, utilized by 170 cardinal Americans. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t usage TikTok for now.”

In an interrogation with NBC News web connected Saturday, Trump said helium was reasoning astir giving TikTok a 90-day hold that would let them to proceed operating. If specified an hold happens, Trump – who erstwhile favoured a TikTok prohibition – said it would “probably” beryllium announced connected Monday, the time that helium is sworn successful arsenic president.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to be Trump’s inauguration with a premier seating location.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that helium volition enactment with america connected a solution to reinstate TikTok erstwhile helium takes office,” the app said successful its connection to the US users. “Please enactment tuned!”

On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law mandating the app’s prohibition unless genitor institution ByteDance divests TikTok’s US operations. The ruling marked a important escalation successful efforts to restrict the app, which officials assertion poses a nationalist information threat.

In court, the Biden medication defended the instrumentality by citing concerns that TikTok collects extended amounts of US idiosyncratic data, which could perchance beryllium accessed by the Chinese authorities done coercion.

Officials person besides cautioned that the app’s algorithm, which determines what contented users see, could beryllium manipulated by Chinese authorities to power the level successful subtle and hard-to-detect ways.

However, the US has yet to contiguous nationalist grounds showing that TikTok has shared idiosyncratic information with Chinese authorities oregon altered its algorithm to service Chinese interests.

ByteDance has denied immoderate wrongdoing and resisted calls to merchantability its US operations, leaving the level successful limbo.

The US instrumentality requires Apple and Google to region TikTok from their app stores, blocking caller downloads. The companies could look penalties of up to $5,000 per idiosyncratic who tin entree the app.

Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, would besides beryllium legally obligated to enforce the ban.

Meanwhile, US-based competitors specified arsenic Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts basal to payment from TikTok’s forced absence.

Another Chinese platform, Xiaohongshu, meaning Little Red Book, has gained traction among American users, becoming the astir downloaded app connected Apple’s US store this week.

Several investors person projected last-minute solutions to support TikTok operational.

According to media reports, Perplexity AI, an artificial quality startup backed by Jeff Bezos, submitted a program to merge with TikTok’s US concern to make a caller entity, perchance allowing ByteDance to clasp partial ownership.

Other offers, including a $20bn bid from a consortium led by Canadian capitalist Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt, stay nether consideration.

Experts pass that adjacent if Trump issues an enforcement bid to hold the ban, it whitethorn look ineligible challenges.

“Congress wrote this instrumentality to beryllium virtually president-proof,” warned Adam Kovacevich, main enforcement of the manufacture commercialized radical Chamber of Progress.