TikTok tells US users it is shutting down ‘temporarily’

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TikTok informed its 170 million US users on Saturday that it would be “temporarily” unavailable after the expiration of a midnight deadline requiring Chinese parent ByteDance to either sell its stake in the app or face a ban.

In a pop-up window that appeared when users opened the short video app, the company wrote: “We regret that the US law banning TikTok will go into effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable.”

She added: “We are working to restore our service in the United States as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please follow us.” Otherwise, the app still works for users.

The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law passed by Congress last year requiring ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban on Sunday, driven by concerns that Beijing might use the platform to spy or spread propaganda. TikTok denied that the Chinese government had any influence on the app.

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he “most likely” will issue a 90-day extension of the deadline when he arrives at the White House on Monday.

However, as of midnight the law will prohibit companies like Apple, Google and Oracle from providing services for video app distribution or hosting, or face fines of $5,000 per user – leaving them to decide whether to risk violating the law between the midnight deadline and midnight. Trump’s inauguration is on Monday. Apple and Oracle declined to comment, while Google did not immediately respond.

Late Friday, TikTok said that statements from the White House as well as the Department of Justice “failed to provide necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining the availability of TikTok” in the United States, without a “final statement to satisfy the providers.” Most importantly to ensure non-implementation, TikTok will be forced to stop operating on January 19th.

“There is no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Saturday in a statement.

The impending shutdown caps a week in which executives at TikTok and ByteDance tried to devise a plan to avoid a shutdown, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Trump said on Friday that he spoke to President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok with the Chinese leader. Chinese state media said the two leaders spoke, but did not specify whether TikTok was part of the conversation.

TikTok has said a breakup is not technologically possible, while Beijing has previously indicated it would oppose any sale.

Instead, the company pinned its hopes on Trump, who promised during his election campaign to “save” TikTok.

The uncertainty has created chaos within the company itself. In the days before the vote, the company was quick to reassure American employees that they would still have jobs and continue to get paid even if the app was shut down, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Meanwhile, marketers have already begun shifting ad spending away from the platform. One media buyer said they had paused all their spending on the platform in the US. However, the person said that TikTok still encourages them to spend their budget on the platform in other markets.

“It’s very chaotic, and although people were not surprised, it was impossible to plan,” said the head of another large advertising agency.

Additional reporting from Zijing Wu in Hong Kong