The Chinese social media app TikTok became inaccessible in the United States on Saturday night (local time) – a few hours before the ban on the video app was due to take effect, US media report.
The 170 million TikTok users in the US can no longer scroll either on the app or the website, according to The Washington Post. They can no longer access their profiles or the videos they have saved as favourites. They can, however, download their data. Users are shown a pop-up message thanking incoming US President Donald Trump, as he has indicated that he wants to look for a solution with the company.
"We regret that a US law banning TikTok takes effect on 19 January and forces us to temporarily make our services inaccessible. We are working to resume our services in the United States as soon as possible," read a notification sent to US TikTok users on Saturday evening.
Earlier on Saturday, TikTok warned that it would "go dark" on the video app itself for its US users on Sunday if the administration of current US President Joe Biden did not immediately come up with a clear decision that would ensure that the ban was not enforced.
Trump will 'most likely' delay the ban
The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday to uphold the impending ban on TikTok: free speech must give way to concerns that Chinese control of the app poses a risk to national security, judges ruled unanimously.
That meant that TikTok's Chinese parent company Bytedance would have to sell the app by 19 January (Sunday), or else the app would no longer be allowed to be made available in the United States.
President Joe Biden's administration reported on Friday that TikTok should remain available to Americans, but it is leaving enforcement of the law to the administration of Donald Trump, who takes the oath of office as President on Monday.
The latter already promised to save TikTok and suspend the law's enactment. Speaking to broadcaster NBC, he said he would "most likely" delay implementation of the controversial law for 90 days. "If I decide that, I will probably announce it on Monday."
