Apple And Google removed TikTok from its application stores on Saturday evening, in accordance with a law requiring the Chinese ByteDance to sell the social application under penalty of an effective ban in the United States.
The removal of TikTok by the Apple App Store and Google Play Store means Americans can no longer download the popular short-form video app on their devices. The app’s delisting comes after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which the president Joe Biden sign in April. TikTok said Friday its service would become darkmeaning it would stop working for Americans unless the Biden administration intervened.
On the Apple App Store, a message saying “App not available” appears on TikTok’s old app install page.
“This app is currently not available in your country or region,” the message says.
“We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server,” reads a message on the TikTok page previously hosted on the Google Play Store.
Some users who visited TikTok’s app and website on Saturday were greeted with a message saying, “Sorry, TikTok is not available at the moment.”
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the United States. Unfortunately, this means you cannot use TikTok at this time,” the notice said. “We’re fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Stay tuned!”
Lemon8, another service owned by ByteDance, also posted a notice informing users that it was not available in the United States. The app has recently been climbing the rankings, becoming one of the most popular free apps on iOS.
“Sorry, Lemon8 is not available at the moment”, the opinion States.
TikTok interrupted service of its application in the United States on Saturday.
The law requires service providers to no longer support TikTok in the United States if ByteDance fails to make a “qualified divestiture” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face heavy penalties for failing to comply 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 harm its activities.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok said using TikTok is a First Amendment right and added that more than 7 million U.S. businesses use it to make money and find customers.
Waiting for Trump
“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for unlimited 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 request the Supreme Court for suspend the application of the law and give his administration “the opportunity to seek a political resolution of the issues at issue in this matter.” Chewing is should attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington on Monday, alongside technology executives 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 everyone should respect it.”
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need time to take stock of the situation. Stay tuned!” Asset wrote in an article on his social media app Truth Social.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saturday acknowledged TikTok’s declaration that it was going dark and called it a “stunt.”
“We have stated our position clearly and directly: actions to implement this law will be the responsibility of the next administration,” Jean-Pierre said. “TikTok and other companies should therefore raise their concerns.”
Asset said NBC News said Saturday that it would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day extension of Sunday’s deadline, and would “likely” announce a decision on Monday.
“I think that would certainly be an option that we would consider,” 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 need to look at it carefully. It’s a very important situation.”
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid for TikTok on Saturday that would result in a combination of the AI-powered search engine startup with TikTok’s U.S. operations and new financial partners, CNBC. reported.
Internet advocacy group of businessman Frank McCourt Freedom Project announced on January 9 that it had submitted a proposal to purchase TikTok from ByteDance on undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we are, I believe, the only bidder” that meets the criteria needed to decouple the technology from the Chinese algorithm.
