Just before a U.S. ban, some users of the social media platform TikTok experienced a popup message stating, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” on Saturday night.
“The United States has passed legislation outlawing TikTok. Unfortunately, this means that TikTok is currently unavailable to you.
Fortunately, President Trump has stated that he will collaborate with us to find a way to bring TikTok back once he takes office. The alert said, “Please stay tuned.”
It was unclear how many of the United States’ 170 million users were still able to use the platform late Saturday night.
The Supreme Court upheld a law that would ban TikTok unless the platform severed ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance by Sunday.
The Biden administration said it would not enforce the ban until Donald Trump takes office on Monday, but the social media company said it needed more “definitive” assurances from the federal government to remain online.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre referred to TikTok’s demand as “a stunt.”
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
In an interview with ABC News on Saturday, Trump said he is likely to grant TikTok a 90-day extension to avoid a ban in the US.
As of Saturday night, the app was no longer available for new users to download onto their devices.
Google and Apple have not responded to ABC News’ multiple requests for comment.
