TikTok went offline in the United States just hours before a new law banning the platform was set to take effect.
A message displayed on the app for US users confirmed that the ban had been enacted, stating, “You can’t use TikTok for now.”
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the message read.
This development follows TikTok’s earlier warning that the platform would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration provided assurances that the ban would not be enforced.
President-elect Donald Trump has stated that he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day extension from the ban after taking office on Monday.
Reports indicate that the app has also been removed from Apple and Google’s US app stores, and TikTok.com is no longer displaying videos.
Trump told NBC News on Saturday, “The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done because it’s appropriate.”
He added, “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
The White House noted that the responsibility lies with the incoming administration to take further action.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law passed in April last year that banned TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sold the platform by Sunday—a condition ByteDance has not met.
TikTok has argued that the law violates the free speech rights of its 170 million users in the United States.
After the court ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reached out to Trump, expressing gratitude for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution.”
Chew is also expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
In the final hours before the platform went offline, content creators shared farewell videos with their followers.
Nicole Bloomgarden, a TikTok creator, told the BBC that losing access to the platform would result in a major loss of income.
Another user, Erika Thompson, described the disappearance of educational content on TikTok as the “biggest loss” for the community.
Earlier on Saturday, TikTok displayed a message informing users that the law would “force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible.”