For the first time in internet history, the US government has officially banned a major global social media platform, joining authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. TikTok officially went dark on Saturday. Users attempting to access the app are now greeted with a message that reads “TikTok is currently unavailable.”
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the message said. “Please stay informed!”
It's the culmination of legislation Congress passed last year that requires TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app's U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. But unlike countries that regularly engage in internet censorship, the US does not have a centralized infrastructure to prevent Americans from accessing specific apps or websites.
Instead, the law puts pressure on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores or risk millions of dollars in fines. Both companies appeared to have removed TikTok and other apps from parent company ByteDance as of Saturday. Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The law also prohibits companies from providing data hosting services to TikTok. Oracle, which counts TikTok as one of its largest cloud computing customers, reportedly began telling staff on Saturday to shut down servers hosting U.S. TikTok data, according to The Information. Oracle did not immediately return a request for comment.
In May, TikTok and a group of American creators called for the law to go into effect, saying it violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court rejected these arguments in a unanimous ruling on January 17, concluding that the provision was motivated by “well-founded national security concerns.”
“It's a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” said Evelyn Douek, a professor at Stanford Law School who specializes in online speech issues. “Unfortunately for me, all nine Supreme Court justices disagree, and virtually everyone who matters will listen to their opinion over mine. However, it is difficult to take the national security justification seriously as past and future presidents, as well as members of Congress, appear to be dithering in recent days about whether an immediate shutdown is necessary after all.
With just days to go before the deadline, President Biden indicated that he would leave enforcement of the law to the new Trump administration. The move left the app's fate in limbo, and TikTok on Saturday urged the Biden administration to provide definitive assurances that it would not enforce the law. In response, Biden's team suggested that TikTok raise its concerns with Trump.
On Blind, an anonymous messaging app popular with tech workers, some TikTok workers wondered if they would have a job next month, while others carried on as usual. “Is someone else's manager still planning meetings next week about new, upcoming projects, without acknowledging the ban in any way?” wrote one user. “I have 2025 strategy meetings next week,” another user responded. “I just do what I'm told. It's comforting in a way.”
