TikTok ban goes into effect early, but the app may get a 90-day extension soon
TikTok and CapCut were taken offline in the US on Saturday night. But the ban may be temporary, according to Chinese parent company ByteDance.
đ« You canât access TikTok or CapCut in the US ahead of the âTikTok banâ
đ A pop-up message says the social media apps are down due to US law
đ€ł Videos and profiles are inaccessible, but that may not last for long
đ ByteDance indicates President-elect Trump is in favor of a fix
TikTok dancers, please exit stage left. You and 170 million other TikTok users in the US can no longer watch or post videos on the Chinese app. The same applies to TikTok-owned video editing tool CaptCut and lifestyle social media app Lemon8.
If you attempt to open up TikTok, youâll see a message detailing why itâs down:
Sorry, TikTok isnât available right now
A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unforutantely, this means you canât 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. Stay tuned!
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the suddenly dark app, pulled TikTok on Saturday night, hours before the official âbanâ was supposed to take effect on Sunday. Doing so early allowed the company to detail why the app is inaccessible and caused influencers to express shock and outrage on Instagram immediately.
Why TikTok is banned in the first place
President Biden said he wouldnât enforce the TikTok ban on his way out of office, and President-elect Trump has gone on the record to favor a 90-day extension. That said, the US Congress did pass a bill that Biden signed into law in April 2024 that declared ByteDance must sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company or close the app on national security grounds.
The US Supreme Court said it wouldnât overturn the law on First Amendment grounds (since the law doesnât ban any specific type of speech â TikTom is banned entirely).
The confusion over whether or not the TikTok ban would take effect and actually be enforced left ByteDance, as well as app store owners Apple and Google, in the middle of a political quandary. Once popular and bipartisan, the TikTok ban became a political hot potato late last year leading up to the US Presidential election. No party wanted to be responsible for banning an app 170 million US users enjoy.
With President-elect Trump ready to take office midday on Monday, January 20, the TikTok ban may be extremely short-lived. Stay tuned for updates.