Apple AND Google removed TikTok from its app stores on Saturday night, in compliance with a law requiring China’s ByteDance to remove the social app or face an effective ban in the US
TikTok’s removal from the Apple App Store and Google Play store means that people in the US can no longer download the popular short-form video app to their devices. The delisting of the app comes after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously approved the Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in April. TikTok said Friday that its service would go dark, meaning it would stop working for Americans, unless the Biden administration intervened.
In Apple’s App Store, a message saying “The app is not available” appears on the previous TikTok app installation page.
“This app is not currently available in your country or region,” the message said.
“Sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server,” said a message on the previously hosted TikTok page on the Google Play store.
Some users who visited the TikTok app and website on Saturday were greeted with a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.”
“A law banning TikTok has been passed in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the announcement read. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned service, also displayed a notice letting users know it was not available in the US.
“Sorry, Lemon8 is not available right now,” the announcement reads.
TikTok shut down its app service in the US on Saturday.
The law requires service providers to no longer support TikTok within the US if ByteDance fails to complete a “qualified distribution” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face stiff penalties for not complying with the law. Apple and Google previously distributed the app through its app stores, while Oracle provides cloud computing services to TikTok and said in June that the law would hurt its business.
After the Supreme Court ruling, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said that using TikTok is a First Amendment right and added that over 7 million US businesses use it to make money and find customers.
Waiting for Trump
“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery, as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” Chew said in a TikTok video.
Chew also thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who previously asked the Supreme Court to stay enforcement of the law and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the issues at hand in this case.” Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington on Monday, along with tech leaders from companies including Meta, AmazonApple and Google.
Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday evening. His transition team did not immediately respond to TikTok’s shutdown. Trump said Friday that the Supreme Court’s decision was expected “and everybody should respect it.”
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I need time to consider the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media app Truth Social.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saturday acknowledged TikTok’s announcement that it would go dark and characterized it as a “stunt.”
“We have made our position clear and straightforward: actions to implement this law will be subject to the next administration,” Jean-Pierre said. “So TikTok and other companies should take any concerns with them.”
Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension of Sunday’s deadline and that he would “probably announce” a decision on Monday.
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,” Trump said in the phone interview. “The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.”
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI on Saturday submitted an offer for TikTok that would result in the AI-powered search engine being combined with TikTok’s US operations and new equity partners, CNBC reported.
Businessman Frank McCourt’s online advocacy group, The Liberty Project, announced on January 9 that it had submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance on undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we, I believe, are the only bidder” that meets the criteria needed to unbundle the technology from the Chinese algorithm.
Friendships: Congress calls for extension of TikTok ban.
