TikTok Disappears from U.S. as Federal Ban Takes Effect

WASHINGTON — TikTok users in the United States were met with a shutdown notice Saturday night, as a federal ban on the popular app took effect.

By 9:30 p.m. a pop-up informed users that TikTok was “unavailable” in the U.S., citing the enactment of a federal law.

“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now," the pop-up on TikTok stated. "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 ban comes after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law mandating that TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, divest its ownership of the app by January 19. The law, passed last year and signed by President Biden, aimed to address security concerns related to the app’s Chinese ownership.

ByteDance had not sold TikTok by the deadline, and the Biden administration signaled it would not enforce the law during its final days. However, TikTok announced Friday that it would preemptively shut down operations to comply with the legal order.

President-elect Trump has indicated he may extend the deadline by 90 days if negotiations to sell the app progress. Trump could take action as early as Monday, after his inauguration. ByteDance, however, previously stated it would not sell TikTok.

The current law allows a 90-day extension if a sale is underway, though there is no confirmation that negotiations are ongoing.