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TikTok told its 170mn US users on Saturday that it will no longer be available “temporarily” after the expiry of a deadline requiring its Chinese parent company Bytedance either to sell its stake in the app or face a ban.
In a pop up that appeared as users opened the short-form video app, the company wrote: “We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable.”
It added: “We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.” The app otherwise is still working for users.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law passed by Congress last year that requires ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban on Sunday, spurred by concerns the platform could be wielded by Beijing for espionage or to spread propaganda.
On Saturday, president-elect Donald Trump said he would “most likely” issue a 90-day extension to the deadline when he comes into the White House on Monday.
However, the law will from midnight ban companies such as Apple, Google and Oracle from providing services to distribute or host the video app, or face fines of $5,000 per user.
Late on Friday, TikTok said that statements from the White House as well as from the Department of Justice had “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability” in the US, and that without “a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, TikTok would be forced to go dark on January 19.
This is a developing story.
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