TikTok ceased its U.S. operations just hours before a Sunday midnight deadline, cutting off access for millions of users. The 'temporary' decision followed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the platform by January 19, 2025, or face a ban.
ByteDance contested the law, arguing it violated free speech rights. However, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favour of the government, citing national security concerns over potential Chinese access to sensitive user data.
TikTok preemptively shut down its U.S. service, notifying users with a pop-up message: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
“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 Biden administration deferred enforcement of the law to the incoming Trump administration, but TikTok acted ahead of the deadline, leaving U.S. users unable to access the app from midnight on Sunday.
At the time of writing this report, the app was no longer available in the Apple or Google Play stores.
TikTok has maintained that the law infringes on the free speech rights of its 170 million users in the United States.
Following the ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew issued an appeal to Trump, expressing gratitude for his "commitment to work with us in finding a resolution."
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