It’s official: TikTok is no longer accessible to users across America after a controversial law forced the app offline unless it splits from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
When users tried to open the app late Saturday night, they were met with this message:
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” it read. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” The message then said President-elect Donald Trump has promised to “work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
This unprecedented shutdown follows a Friday Supreme Court ruling upholding a ban passed by Congress and signed by President Biden last April. The law prohibits TikTok from operating in the U.S. unless ByteDance sells the app to a company based in the U.S. or an allied nation.
Adding to the chaos, TikTok disappeared from Apple’s App Store and Google Play late Saturday, along with other ByteDance apps like CapCut, leaving millions of creators and small businesses scrambling.
President-elect Donald Trump has hinted at a possible reprieve. Speaking to NBC News on Saturday, Trump said he’s “most likely” to grant TikTok a 90-day extension to delay the ban after he’s inaugurated on Monday
“The 90-day extension is something we’ll most likely do. It’s appropriate. It’s a very big situation. We’ll announce something soon,” he said.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been lobbying hard to save the app, reportedly meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago in recent weeks.
What does this mean for creators? For now, millions of Americans are without access to TikTok, with no clear resolution in sight. Is this a temporary blackout—or the end of the app that changed social media forever?
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