TikTok, the popular social media platform in the United States, has been shut down. The TikTok app was removed from major app stores on Saturday evening as federal laws banning TikTok came into effect.
As of 10:50 p.m. ET on Saturday (January 18), the app was not available in the Apple and Google app stores. US President Joe Biden’s term ends next Monday. Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next president on that day. The White House had previously said the new president would be responsible for implementing the law. Although Trump initially supported the move, he has indicated that he is not in favor of the ban.
On Friday, he said, ‘My decision on TikTok will be taken in the near future. But I must have time to review the situation.’
A US court injunction earlier required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the platform. And if you don’t, you will face US sanctions. China-based parent company ByteDance disagreed. As a result, the platform was banned in the United States.
Users there say the app is showing a message saying the law banning Tiktik has been implemented. “You can no longer use TikTok”. It added, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us to resolve the issue of restarting TikTok after taking office.” President-elect Donald Trump said he may give TikTok a 90-day grace period after taking office on Monday. The bill to ban TikTok was passed in the US House of Representatives in March last year.
The US Senate then approved the controversial bill in April. At the time, it was said that under this law, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, would have to sell its shares in the United States within the next six months. Otherwise, this app will be blocked in the US. Tiktok is banned in other countries India has already banned Tiktok. The country was a big market for the app before the ban came into effect in June 2020. Besides, TikTok is also closed in Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan and Somalia. In 2023, the UK government and parliament banned the use of TikTok on their staff’s devices. So did the European Commission.