For the first time in internet history, the United States government has officially banned a major global social media platform, joining authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. On Saturday, TikTok officially went dark. Users trying to access the app are now greeted with a message that says “TikTok is currently unavailable.” ,” the message added. “Please stay tuned!” It was the end result of legislation passed by Congress last year that required TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app’s American operations or face a national ban. But unlike countries that regularly engage in internet censorship, the US does not have a centralized infrastructure to prevent Americans from accessing certain apps or websites. dollars in fines. Both companies have taken down TikTok and other apps owned by parent company ByteDance since 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 biggest cloud computing customers, reportedly told staff to shut down the servers hosting TikTok’s US data on Saturday, according to the Information. Oracle did not immediately return a request for comment. In May, TikTok and a group of US creators called for the law to be struck down, saying it violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court rejected those arguments in a unanimous decision on Jan. 17, concluding that the provision was motivated by “well-supported national security concerns.” A school that specializes in online speech problems. “Unfortunately for me, all nine justices of the Supreme Court disagreed, and everyone who matters will listen to their opinion on my opinion. It is difficult to take national security justifications seriously, however, when now past and future presidents as well as members of Congress seem to be backing down if it is necessary to die Biden signaled that he would leave enforcement until the incoming Trump administration. The move left the app’s fate in limbo, and TikTok asked the Biden administration on Saturday to make sure it would not enforce the law. In response, Biden’s team suggested TikTok raising concerns with Trump. On Blind, an anonymous messaging app popular with tech workers, some TikTok employees think they’ll have work next month, while others are doing business as usual. “Whoever’s manager is still scheduling a meeting next week.” new ones coming without acknowledging the ban?” wrote one user. “I have a 2025 strategy meeting next week,” replied another user. “I just did what I was told. It was fun in a way.
TikTok is not available in the US—and it’s gone from the App Store
