TikTok goes offline in the US as ban takes effect two hours early
TikTok has officially gone down for its U.S. users, with a message warning users who open the app that it isn’t currently available.
TikTok is officially out of action for its U.S. devotees, delivering the bombshell message to app users, "A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now," Users are greeted with two options at the bottom: "Learn more" and "Close app."
In a surprising move, the developers have tipped their hats to President-elect Donald Trump, saying, "We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned! " Hitting the "learn more" button transports users to TikTok’s website, which displays the same notice under the heading "Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now," and adds the line, "In the meantime, you can still log in to download your data."
This alarming message provides the much-anticipated answer for 170 million Americans left in suspense over the fate of the app following its promised shutdown due to the ban. The blackout commenced around 10 p.m. EST on Saturday, a full two hours prior to when the ban was expected to kick in.
DownDetector.com, renowned for monitoring glitches across a vast range of online platforms and services, including TikTok, noted a dramatic surge in complaints shortly afterward, reports the Mirror US.
Reports of outages remained at the baseline level, which is between 20 and 30, until about 8:30 pm, when a small spike of about 350 users reported issues with accessing the app. By 10:30 pm, more than 6,300 users had reported issues. Approximately 67% of users said they had issues accessing the app, while another 26% said they weren’t able to connect to the server. About 7% said they couldn’t access the app’s website.
Immediately after the ban went into effect, users began racing to other social media platforms to share their devastation at the lass of the popular video sharing site.
“Bye TikTok, I really never wanted to download the app so I literally didn’t until I got it a month ago to watch a livestream LMAO but! goodbye to all those edits i liked to watch,” wrote one user.
A second user commented: “TikTok was supposed to go down tomorrow, but I guess they couldn’t wait? I’m literally unwell rn”
While a third echoed the sentiment by writing: “First Vine now TikTok those were the two best video platforms ever and now they’re gone.”
However, while the early axe of the app has sent shockwaves through the TikTok community, all hope isn’t lost just yet as President Elect Donald Trump has already expressed an interest in reinstating the platform following his inauguration. He told his supporters he would “most likely” give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal after he is sworn into office on Monday.
The rationale behind the ban was that the app posed a national security threat due to its Chinese roots, with members of Congress and other high-level government officials, including members of Biden’s administration, advocating for its ban to protect national interests.
The Biden administration had indicated it would not enforce the law that has seen the platform banned, but TikTok said it would “be forced to go dark on January 19” unless the US Government gave assurances that a shut down would not be enforced.
Similar concerns over security relating to Chinese influence on the app have been expressed in the UK, leading creators to fear a similar ban will be implemented. TikTok is already banned on government devices because of cybersecurity concerns.
In the US, the law sees mobile app stores and internet hosting services facing major fines if they continued to distribute the website to American users after the January 19 deadline. Similar action in the UK could deter companies from offering the app to British users.
With the ban now currently in effect, many users have transitioned to other alternatives, including Instagram and YouTube which already offer similar formats with reels and shorts. There is also Snapchat Spotlight, while Elon Musk-owned X may also hope to pick up a few users.
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