TikTok shut down in the U.S. late Saturday night following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law that banned the company over national security concerns.
However, the ban may be shortlived as Trump announced today that he would issue an executive order when he takes office on Monday to give TikTok an additional 90 days to find a U.S. buyer.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
Trump suggests that the United States would take over 50% of the company along with another purchaser to keep the app alive in the U.S.
The ban is being carried out as part of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which bans TikTok and other ByteDance apps from being distributed and used in the U.S., stating they are “significant threat to the national security of the United States”.
When it shut down last night, the TikTok app began showing U.S. users a message stating, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” explaining that it is banned in the U.S. and that you cannot use the app.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” read the TikTok message.
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Source: BleepingComputer
The app is also no longer available for download from Google and Apple app stores, with Apple releasing a statement about its removal.
In addition to TikTok, Apple has also removed other ByteDance apps, including TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller Center, CapCut, Lemon8, Hypic, Lark – Team Collaboration, Lark – Rooms Display, Lark Rooms Controller, and Gauth: AI Study Companion.
After Trump announced that companies would not face any liability for allowing TikTok to remain running, the app changed the message to state, “We’re working hard to resolve this issues. Thank you for your patience.”
It is unclear if TikTok will wait until President Trump issues his executive order on Monday or will bring the app live today.
For now, the TikTok app is not working and is blocked for U.S. users even when using a VPN. However, the website continues to operate in the U.S., allowing users to download their data and watch videos.