TikTok has officially been banned in the United States following the enforcement of a federal law citing concerns about national security due to the app’s Chinese ownership.
The ban, which began on Sunday, prevents TikTok from operating within the country and mandates that its parent company, ByteDance, divest its stake or face an outright shutdown.
On January 17, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban, rejecting TikTok’s argument that the legislation violated free speech rights.
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As reported by Reuters, TikTok is no longer available for download from both Apple and Google’s app stores in the U.S., and the platform’s 170 million American users can no longer access it.
Users attempting to log in are greeted with a message reading, “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
In response, TikTok expressed optimism regarding President-elect Donald Trump, who indicated he would likely grant the app a 90-day reprieve following his inauguration on January 20. The company stated, “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.”
Additionally, other ByteDance-owned apps, including CapCut, a popular video editing tool, and Lemon8, a lifestyle-focused platform, were removed from U.S. app stores by late Saturday.
