It’s official: TikTok has switched off its service in the US, for now.
The ByteDance-owned app went offline for over 170 million US users late Saturday night (January 18), ahead of the implementation of a law on Sunday (January 19) that effectively bans the app in the market.
The Supreme Court upheld a law on Friday (January 17) requiring TikTok’s US operations to be divested to avoid being shut down in America, over security concerns due to its Chinese government ties.
TikTok is currently displaying the following message for users trying to access the platform from within the US:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
“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!
“In the meantime, you can still download your data.”
Google and Apple have also removed TikTok from their app stores to comply with the law.
In addition to TikTok, ByteDance-owned apps, including CapCut, a video editing platform, and Instagram rival Lemon8 have also gone offline in the United States.
TikTok warned on Friday following the Supreme Court ruling that it would be “forced to go dark” in the US “unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement”.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Saturday that TikTok’s threat to shut down in the US is a “stunt”.
Said Jean-Pierre: “We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt”.
“We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.”
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act targets apps owned by companies in countries considered security threats by the US. Joe Biden signed the law in April 2024.
As indicated by the message now seen by TikTok’s US users when they try to log in to the app, the company is now betting on political intervention from incoming President Donald Trump, who is reportedly considering an executive order to temporarily suspend the law.
The proposed suspension would give the Trump administration time to find a buyer for TikTok’s US operations, or to find another solution, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday (January 15).
Trump told NBC News on Saturday that a “90-day extension is something that will be most likely done because it’s appropriate”. He added: “We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.”
In the interview with NBC, the president-elect added: “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.’
Trump’s inauguration is also scheduled to take place on Monday (January 20).
TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to the Supreme Court decision on Friday in a video message thanking Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States”.
Said Chew: “As you know, we have been fighting to protect the constitutional right to free speech for the more than 170 million Americans who use our platform every day to connect, create, discover and achieve their dreams.
“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”
“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok
He added: “This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. As we’ve said, TikTok is a place where people can create communities, discover new interests and express themselves, including over 7 million American businesses earn a living and gain new customers using our platform.
“We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform. One who’s used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process.”
TikTok’s CEO is reportedly expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
TikTok’s parent company has previously suggested that it has no intention to sell the app in the US.
ByteDance’s powerful recommendation algorithm is a key issue behind its unwillingness to sell the app’s US operations.
Last Friday (January 10), during more than two hours of oral arguments, lawyers for TikTok told the Supreme Court about the difficulty of potentially running the TikTok app in the US without the recommendation algorithm that powers TikTok globally.
The app’s recommendation algorithm powers its ‘For You feed’, which ByteDance and TikTok describe as “one of the defining features of the TikTok platform”.
Reuters reported last year that TikTok’s parent “would prefer” to shut the app down in the US if it’s unable to successfully challenge the legislation in the courts.
The news agency’s sources also said at the time that TikTok shares “the same core algorithms” with other apps owned by ByteDance, such as China-based TikTok sister app Douyin.
They added that closing TikTok down in the United States “would have limited impact” on the company’s global business and, furthermore, that, by shutting it down, rather than selling it to a US-based company, it “would not have to give up its core algorithm”.
Reuters also reported the short-form video app’s US business “accounts for a small share of ByteDance’s total revenues and daily active users”.
At this stage, it’s unclear how long TikTok will be offline in the US.
This is a fast-moving story, and the service could even be restored on Monday if Trump intervenes with an executive order delaying the law.
However, a prolonged period of downtime could significantly impact US-focused promotional activities in the music industry.
Superstar artists from Billie Eilish to Taylor Swift, Post Malone, and more have used TikTok as a key part of their marketing activities in recent months.
Campaigns will likely have been planned for the coming weeks and months, which will now be in limbo as the industry awaits news of Tiktok’s long-term fate in the US.
Friday’s Supreme Court decision was welcomed by both the White House and the US Department of Justice.
“The Court’s decision enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
He added: “Authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to millions of Americans’ sensitive data. The Court’s decision affirms that this Act protects the national security of the United States in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution.”
The outgoing Biden Administration responded to the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, stating that “President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.
Last Thursday (January 9), Project Liberty, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt, formally made what the organization calls ‘The People’s Bid’ for TikTok, and said that it aims to relaunch the platform on “a new, American-made digital infrastructure”.
Project Liberty said that it has “the financial capacity to complete the transaction”, including “expressions of interest from investors, including major private equity funds, family offices, and high net worth individuals for adequate equity capital”. It said that it also has access to debt financing from “one of the largest banks in the United States”.
Elsewhere this week, Bloomberg reported that tech billionaire Elon Musk could potentially save the app.
According to reporting from Bloomberg on Monday (January 13), citing sources, “Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the app is banned”.
Bloomberg added that “it’s unclear whether the multibillionaire, TikTok and ByteDance have held any talks”.
In a response issued to the media following the publication of Bloomberg’s report, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
Perplexity AI has also reportedly made a bid to merge with TikTok in the US.Music Business Worldwide
