TikTok suspends services in US

TikTok has officially suspended its services in the United States, cutting off access to the app for about 170 million users in the country.

The social media app shut down activities in the US on Saturday evening, hours before the official implementation of the federal ban.

TikTok had earlier announced that its services will shut down on Sunday unless the Biden administration assures that Apple, Google, and other service providers won’t face penalties for supporting the app.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately, TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” TikTok said in a statement on Friday.

But the US government described TikTok’s threat to shut down as a “stunt,” stating that there was no reason for the company to take any action before the Trump administration takes office on 20 January.

“We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

However, TikTok went dark on Saturday evening.

According to multiple reports, users attempting to access the application encountered a notification stating, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

Legislation in TikTok ban

In April 2024, the US Congress passed legislation signed by President Joe Biden, which mandated TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operations to an approved buyer within nine months.

The law prohibits internet hosting services and mobile app marketplaces from offering TikTok to American users.

However, ByteDance has said it would not sell the video-sharing platform.

This is despite receiving multiple offers that align with the US government’s requirements.

One of these offers came from Perplexity AI, a US start-up company. According to a Reuters report, the company had submitted an eleventh-hour proposal suggesting a merger with TikTok’s US subsidiary.

This arrangement is expected to present ByteDance with an alternative that won’t require the complete sale of the application. American businessman Frank McCourt also offered to “work with the company and President Trump to complete a deal.”

Court ruling

Last Friday, shortly before TikTok threatened to shut down, the US Supreme Court upheld the law forcing ByteDance to sell the subsidiary company.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the ruling recognised the free speech concerns involved but stated that legislation aimed at addressing national security risks tied to foreign control of the app is separate from the free speech protections provided under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The company’s last hope lies with President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office on Monday.

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In its shut-down notification, the app expressed interest in working with him to reverse the decision.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned,” the message read.

The president-elect has also indicated interest in providing TikTok with an additional 90 days for deal negotiations.

With more than 2.05 billion users globally and 1.69 billion active monthly users, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide.

According to Statista, an online data platform, the US has the second-largest TikTok audience globally.

It is, however, owned by a Chinese company, which adds complexity to its operations, given the economic and geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States.