The social media platform TikTok became unavailable for some users Saturday evening, just ahead of a U.S. ban, with a popup message saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
“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. Please stay tuned,” the alert said.
TikTok logo on a smartphone.
Antonin Utz/AFP via Getty Images
Of the 170 million users in the United States, it wasn’t immediately clear how many still were able to use the platform late Saturday night.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law set to ban TikTok unless the platform severs ties with China-based parent company ByteDance by Sunday.
The Biden administration said it wouldn’t enforce the ban before Donald Trump takes office on Monday, but the social media company said it needed more “definitive” assurance from the federal government to stay online.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s demand “a stunt” earlier in the day on Saturday.
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office,” Jean-Pierre said.
Trump told ABC News in an interview Saturday he is likely to grant TikTok a 90-day extension to avoid a ban in the United States.
As of Saturday night, the app was also no longer available for new users to download to their devices.
Both Google and Apple have not responded to ABC News’ repeated requests for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
