Apple And Google removed TikTok from their app stores on Saturday evening, complying with a law that requires the Chinese company ByteDance to sell the social app or face an efficient ban within the United States
The removal of TikTok by the Apple App Store and Google Play Store means people within the US will not have the opportunity to download the favored short-form video app on their devices. The app's delisting comes after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed in April. TikTok said Friday its service was shutting down, meaning it could not work for Americans unless the Biden administration intervenes.
In Apple's App Store, TikTok's previous app installation page displays an “App not available” message.
“This app is currently unavailable in your country or region,” the message said.
“We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server,” said a message on the page that TikTok previously hosted on the Google Play Store.
Some users who visited TikTok's app and website on Saturday were greeted with the message: “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.”
“A law has been passed in the USA banning TikTok. Unfortunately, this means you will not be able to use TikTok for the time being,” the statement said. “We are happy that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reintroduce TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Lemon8, one other service owned by ByteDance, also showed users a notice indicating that the app isn’t available within the US. The app had recently skyrocketed up the charts and turn out to be one of the vital popular free apps for iOS.
“Unfortunately, Lemon8 is currently unavailable.” the note States.
The law requires service providers to stop supporting TikTok within the US if ByteDance doesn’t complete a “qualified divestiture” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face harsh penalties for failing to comply with the law. Apple and Google have previously distributed the app through their app stores, while Oracle provides cloud computing services to TikTok and said in June that the law would hurt its business.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said that using TikTok is a First Amendment right, adding that over 7 million American corporations use it to generate profits and find customers.
Waiting for Trump
“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our platform continues to thrive as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery, as well as a source of inspiration and joy, for years to come,” said Chew a TikTok video.
Chew also thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who previously asked the Supreme Court agrees pause implementation of the law and provides his government “the opportunity to seek a political solution to the issues at issue in this case.” Chew is anticipated to attend Trump's inauguration in Washington on Monday, together with technology leaders from corporations like Meta, AmazonApple and Google.
Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday evening. His transition team didn’t immediately reply to TikTok's shutdown. Trump said Friday that the Supreme Court's decision is anticipated “and everyone has to respect it.”
“My decision on TikTok will come in the not too distant future, but I need time to review 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 confirmed TikTok's statement that it could go dark, calling it a “stunt.”
“We have made our position clear and clear: the measures to implement this law will be the responsibility of the next government,” said Jean-Pierre. “Therefore, TikTok and other companies should discuss any concerns with them.”
Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day extension of the Sunday deadline and that he would “probably” announce a call on Monday.
“I think that would certainly be an option that we are looking at,” Trump said in a telephone interview. “The 90-day extension will most likely go ahead because it is reasonable. You know, it's appropriate. We need to look at this carefully. It’s a very big situation.”
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI made a bid for TikTok on Saturday that may see the AI-powered search engine startup mix with TikTok's U.S. operations and latest capital partners, CNBC reported.
Businessman Frank McCourt's web advocacy group Project Liberty said on Jan. 9 that it had submitted a suggestion to purchase TikTok from ByteDance on undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we are, I believe, the only bidder” that meets the needed criteria to separate the technology from the Chinese algorithm.
REGARD: Congress is looking for an extension of the TikTok ban deadline.
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