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TikTok told its 170 million US users on Saturday that it would no longer be available “for a while” after the end of a period that required its Chinese parent company Bytedance to sell its stake. in the app or facing a ban.
In a message that appears when users open the short-form video app, the company wrote: “We regret that the US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to Our services are temporarily unavailable.”
It added: “We are working to restore our service in the United States as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.” Otherwise, the app is still working for users.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law passed by Congress last year that required ByteDance to sell the platform or face a national ban on Sunday, fueled by concerns that the platform could used by Beijing for espionage or propaganda.
On Saturday, president-elect Donald Trump said he would “likely” grant a 90-day extension to the deadline to enter the White House on Monday.
However, the law will prevent companies such as Apple, Google and Oracle from midnight to provide services to distribute or run the video app, or face a fine of $5,000 per user .
At the end of Friday, TikTok said that the announcements from the White House and the Department of Justice “failed to provide the necessary clarification and assurance to the providers of services necessary to maintain the availability of TikTok” in the US, and that without ” Statement clear to satisfy the most critical service providers guaranteeing inactivity, TikTok will have to go dark on January 19.
This is an ongoing story.
