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The popular video app stopped working shortly after signaling to users it might go offline, with a federal law barring U.S. companies from hosting or distributing TikTok set to take effect on Sunday.
Jan. 18, 2025Updated 11:18 p.m. ET
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” the message read.
Hours before a federal law banning TikTok from the United States was set to take effect on Sunday, the Chinese-owned social media app went dark, and U.S. users could no longer access videos on the platform. Instead, the app greeted them with a message that said “a law banning TikTok has been enacted.”
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution,” the message said. “Please stay tuned!”
TikTok also appeared to have been removed from Apple and Google’s U.S. app stores, some users said. TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8, also stopped working and showed U.S. users a message saying that it “isn’t available right now.” Both TikTok and Lemon8 are owned by ByteDance, a Chinese internet giant.
TikTok became unavailable after the Supreme Court decision on Friday upholding the law, which calls for ByteDance to sell the app by Sunday or otherwise face a ban. The law was passed overwhelmingly by Congress last year and signed by President Biden. TikTok, which has faced national security concerns for its Chinese ties, had believed it could win its legal challenge to the law, but failed.
The blackout capped a chaotic stretch for TikTok, which had made last-minute pleas to both the Biden administration and President-elect Donald J. Trump for a way out of the law. Until Saturday night, no one — including the U.S. government — was entirely sure what would happen to it when the law took effect. The United States has never blocked an app used by tens of millions of Americans essentially overnight.
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