WASHINGTON — As the clock ticks closer toward a U.S. ban on TikTok taking effect, the popular video-sharing platform began warning users Saturday night it would be going dark, at least “temporarily.”
“Important update from TikTok,” a pop-up message on the platform read Saturday evening. “We regret that a U.S. 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 U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company.
While the administration of President Joe Biden has signaled it won’t enforce the law, which begins Sunday on his last full day in office, TikTok has said it needed more “clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans.”
The company said Friday it would otherwise “be forced to go dark on January 19.”
President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he “most likely” will give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the platform to avoid a U.S. ban.
What will happen to TikTok when it’s banned?
It’s not 100% clear exactly what’s going to happen to TikTok when the ban officially takes effect on Sunday. Experts have said the way the law was written, current TikTok users would continue to have access to the app but wouldn’t receive updates, eventually making it unworkable.
However, the company says its platform will go dark. TikTok hasn’t provided any specific details though, including whether it would voluntarily shut down its U.S. platform at midnight.
