TikTok has officially suspended its operations in the United States, cutting off access to about 170 million users. The shutdown took effect on Saturday evening, January 19, just hours before a federal ban on the popular app was set to be enforced.
The social media platform, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, had earlier warned that it would cease operations unless the Biden administration assured service providers, such as Apple and Google, that they would not face penalties for supporting the app. TikTok’s statement on Friday read: “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.”
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Despite these warnings, the US government dismissed TikTok’s threat as unnecessary. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the move as a “stunt,” asserting that there was no immediate reason for the app to take action before the Biden administration officially assumed office on January 20.
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On Saturday evening, however, users attempting to access TikTok were greeted with 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.”
The federal ban stems from legislation passed in April 2024, which mandated ByteDance to sell its US operations to an approved buyer within nine months. The law also prohibits app marketplaces and internet hosting providers in the US from offering TikTok to American users. However, ByteDance has refused to comply, rejecting multiple acquisition offers, including one from US start-up Perplexity AI, which proposed a merger with TikTok’s US subsidiary.
Last Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld the legislation, ruling that national security concerns over TikTok’s foreign ownership justified the federal action. The ruling emphasized that the government’s efforts to mitigate security risks were separate from the free speech protections provided under the First Amendment.
TikTok’s suspension leaves millions of American users without access to one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. With over 2.05 billion users globally, TikTok’s absence in the US underscores the ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology and security.
The company has expressed hope that the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, set to take office on January 20, will work with them to reverse the ban. TikTok’s shutdown message assured users of efforts to negotiate a solution, noting that Trump may grant a 90-day extension for deal discussions.
For now, TikTok remains unavailable in the US, and its future in the country depends on the outcome of these negotiations.
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