TikTok has gone dark in the US just hours before a new law banning the platform was set to take effect.
A message appearing on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted. This comes after TikTok prepared to shut down in the US on Sunday if a reprieve didn’t arrive in time.
There’s still some hope though. President-elect Donald Trump has said he’s willing to give TikTok a 3-month break from the ban hammer once he takes office on Monday. That’s good news for fans of the app, but it leaves things a little up in the air.
The ban looms as the US Supreme Court upholds the law which was signed in April. Basically, it said that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, had to sell the US version of the platform to an approved US firm to stop the total ban. Unfortunately, ByteDance failed to do so before the deadline.
Once enacted, the law prohibits any new downloads of the TikTok app in the US. It also bars US companies from providing services like updates and maintenance. TikTok has over 170 million users in the US.
So, what happens next? We’ll have to wait and see what the new administration decides. There’s a chance TikTok might get a chance to stay, but it’s not a sure thing. In the meantime, US users are reportedly flocking to the Chinese platform RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu.
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