The short video-sharing app, TikTok was removed from the app stores on Saturday (January 18, 2025) just before a federal law would have banned the app.
By 10:50 pm EST, the app was not on the Apple and Google app stores which are not allowed to offer the app under a law that required ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell the app or face a US ban.
When users opened the app on Saturday night they got a pop-up from the company that wouldn’t let them scroll on videos.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
TikTok told US users on Saturday (January 18, 2025) that the app would soon be “temporarily unavailable” as the law banning it in the country was about to go into effect — though President-elect Donald Trump said he was thinking about a reprieve.
"We regret that a US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable,"
"We're working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned," the message said.
After months of legal battles, the US Supreme Court on Friday (January 17) ruled that the law banning the video-sharing app would go into effect unless ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, sells the app to non-Chinese buyers by Sunday.
Only months after the lawmakers and officials voted in favor of the law, they are now worried about the ban and everyone is waiting to see if Trump can come to the rescue of the app.
