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TikTok’s time is up in the U.S. — at least for now. The popular social media app went dark late Saturday before a federal law to ban it took effect Sunday. But the possibility of at least a temporary reprieve from incoming President Donald Trump left TikTok’s ultimate fate up in the air.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” a message told users on the app. “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,” the message went on. “Please stay tuned!”
President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill in April requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to either sell the app to a U.S. buyer or face a ban. ByteDance said it would not sell the video sharing platform. The Supreme Court upheld the law in a unanimous ruling Friday.
The Biden administration had signaled that it would not begin enforcement of the law Sunday before Trump takes office Monday. Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve n to find a U.S. buyer.
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,” Trump said “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.”
Lawmakers have raised national security concerns over TikTok’s ties to China, arguing that the app could be pressured to share user data with the Chinese government, and that it could be influenced to show certain types of content to U.S.-based users.
TikTok, which counts more than 170 million U.S.-based monthly users, filed a lawsuit arguing that the bill — the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — violated its First Amendment rights. However, the law was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December, which argued that the Chinese-owned app is a potential threat to national security.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments from TikTok and ByteDance earlier this month, but did not overturn the ruling ahead of the Sunday deadline.
Earlier this week, The Information reported that TikTok will shut off the app for U.S. users as soon as the ban is in effect. U.S. users trying to open the app will receive a pop-up message with a website for information on the ban, The Information reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. Another person told the publication that TikTok will give users in the U.S. the option to download their data.
Under the law, TikTok is supposed to be unavailable to download from Apple (AAPL+0.54%) and Google’s (GOOGL+1.66%) app stores, and network providers are supposed to block access to the website. The requirements will eventually make the app “unworkable” over time without support and updates, according to the Justice Department.
However, an unnamed official told the Associated Press on Thursday that the outgoing Biden administration will not enforce the TikTok ban before he leaves office, which is the day after the ban takes effect.
In a White House statement after the Supreme Court decision, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, given the timing of the ruling, the Biden administration “recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday.”
Trump said in December that he has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok, which he credited for delivering support from younger voters. During his first term, however, Trump wanted to ban TikTok, citing national security concerns. He claimed the app would allow the Chinese Communist Party to collect Americans’ “personal and proprietary information.”
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said it “was expected,” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation,” Trump said.
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Chew was invited to sit on the dais alongside Meta’s (META+0.46%) Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, according to the New York Times.
The law also allowed for a 90-day pause in banning the app if progress was made toward a sale before the effective date. However, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the bill before the Supreme Court on behalf of the Biden administration, told justices that it’s unclear if the pause can be applied after the ban is implemented, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, U.S. TikTok users have joined Chinese-owned social media app Xiaohongshu in droves ahead of the expected ban. The app, which translates to “little red book” in English and is similar to Instagram, has climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store for free downloads. Xiaohongshu downloads in the U.S. rose 194% in the last week, CBS News reported, citing an analysis by Sensor Tower.