INDIANA – TikTok has ceased operations in the United States following the implementation of a federal law requiring the popular social media platform to split from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The shutdown came after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the controversial ban.
Users across the country began receiving shutdown notices as the platform went offline ahead of the Sunday deadline. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message stated, adding that the company was “fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would “most likely” extend a 90-day grace period to allow TikTok to negotiate a deal that could prevent a permanent ban. This came after TikTok’s Friday statement that it would “be forced to go dark on January 19” without such an arrangement.
By 10:50 p.m. ET, The Associated Press confirmed that TikTok had been removed from Apple and Google’s app stores. Apple announced on its website that TikTok and other ByteDance-developed apps were no longer available, citing its obligation to “follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates.”
The removal has significant implications for existing users. According to Apple, even if users have already downloaded the app, they won’t be able to redownload it if deleted or restored on new devices. The lack of updates could also impact the app’s performance and security features.
In the hours leading up to the shutdown, TikTok sent a final message to its user base: “We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
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