TikTok officially banned across the US, Trump named as savior in new message

TikTok users across the United States have been locked out of the popular video-sharing platform hours before the deadline for the ban came into place.

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The banning of TikTok dates back to April last year when the Senate passed a bill that deemed TikTok a national security threat as the app was found to have the ability to scrape the data of the 170 million Americans using the app. Lawmakers decided the app's predatory data-gathering techniques and the possibility of American data being shared with the Chinese government were enough to deem the app as a national security threat.

To remedy this problem, lawmakers gave TikTok owner ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to either sell the app to a US-based and government-approved buyer or have the app banned across both the App Store and Google Play Store. That deadline has now approached, and hours before it ticks over to January 19, users are reporting TikTok already being unavailable, with users receiving the message:

"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately that means you can't use TikTok for now. 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!"

It appears the message users are receiving has changed within the last few hours. Some users have received the message in the above image, which states, "We're working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned," while others have now received a message naming President Trump as a potential savior of the app.

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