TikTok goes dark in the US

TikTok has gone dark in the US, the result of a federal law banning the popular short-form video app from millions of Americans — at least for now.

TikTok users started receiving the ban message around 10:30 PM Eastern on Saturday night, and the app also disappeared from the Apple and Google Play app stores.

“We’re sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable,” the company said in a message. “There’s a law passed in the US that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

The message also suggests that this might just be a temporary disappearance. TikTok credits President-elect Donald Trump for indicating that he will “work with us on a solution to get TikTok back on track after he takes office,” and urges users to “stay with us!”

The company warned earlier this week that the disappearance of the application is inevitable, saying on Friday that “it will get dark” unless President Joe Biden’s administration makes a “definitive declaration” that it will not enforce the ban.

Bipartisan majority in House and Senate last April passed a law requiring TikTok owner ByteDance to either sell the app or ban it in the United States over concerns about possible Chinese surveillance and propaganda, with Biden quickly signs the bill. And while they are trying to force ByteDance to lay off go back to Trump’s first administration, he has taken a different tone recently. Trump asked the Supreme Court to stay the ban and said he would “most likely” give the company a 90-day extension.

The Supreme Court issued a verdict abiding by the law Friday; and the Biden administration seemed inclined to do so leave the app’s fate in the hands of the next president. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that with the law taking effect shortly before Trump’s inauguration on Monday, “actions to enforce the law simply have to be up to the next administration.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued a similar statement that “the next phase of this effort — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it takes effect on January 19 — will be a process that will unfold over time.”

TikTok, however, suggested that this is not enough of a guarantee for “critical service providers” to continue listing or hosting the app in the United States unless the Biden administration makes the aforementioned “final statement.” Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s response a “stunt” and argued that “there is no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.”

Like it or not, TikTok is gone for now.

As for the app’s long-term prospects, Trump said he plans to “negotiate a resolution” that would likely include a sale or other concessions from ByteDance, which has repeatedly said it is not yet interested in a sale. seems optimistic about his prospects under Trump.

Trump he repeated to NBC News on Saturday that he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday.

“I think that would definitely be an option that we are considering. A 90 day extension is something that will most likely be done because it is appropriate. You know, it’s convenient. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” Trump told the newspaper.

On Sunday morning, announced that he would issue an executive order Monday delayed the ban and also expressed interest in a “joint venture between current owners and/or new owners with the US gaining 50% ownership.”

Many potential buyers were hoping billionaire Frank McCourt would win over TikTok’s 170 million users making a “human offering” to Perplexity AI suggests merging.

There was even a report suggesting that the Chinese government is considering selling to Elon Musk as part of a broader deal with the Trump administration. A TikTok spokesperson called the report “pure fiction.”

Meanwhile, alternative Chinese apps like RedNote and Lemon8 had got a boost while TikTok users are looking for alternatives. However, Lemon8 — which is also owned by ByteDance — is among them other apps that are now blocked.

This post has been updated to reflect Trump’s statements Sunday morning, as well as additional applications blocked by law.