TikTok has announced that it is officially going dark in the United States as a federal ban on the app takes effect. Starting around 6 PM Pacific time, users in the US, including Verge staff, began receiving notifications indicating that the ban will render the app’s services temporarily unavailable.
The company warned on Friday that it would be compelled to go dark if the Biden administration failed to provide assurances to its service providers, such as Apple and Google, who may face substantial fines per US user of TikTok once the ban is enacted. The Biden administration dismissed TikTok’s threat to go offline as a “stunt” and suggested that the issue should be addressed by the incoming Trump administration.
Trump has indicated plans to extend the ban’s deadline by 90 days through an executive order upon taking office on January 20th. However, it remains uncertain whether he will possess the authority to save TikTok, which is now officially banned. The law upheld by the Supreme Court mandates that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must divest its ownership stake in the app for it to continue operating in the US.
Developing…
