TikTok has shut its US users out of the social media platform just hours ahead of a deadline that would have the app banned in the country.
Users took to other social media platforms such as X to report being locked out of the app, posting images of a pop-up message that says it “isn’t available right now”.
Popular video-sharing social media platform TikTok has shut its US users out of the platform.Credit: nna\mikala.theocharous
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message reads. “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 for a solution!”
President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday (US time) that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a potential ban after he takes office on Monday.
The message displayed to US TikTok users on Sunday.
“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done because it’s appropriate,” Trump told NBC. “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
The ban does not affect Australian users. However, some local content creators found themselves barred from the app because they had set up their accounts while in the United States.
Chloe Baradinsky, an Australian influencer with more than 100,000 followers, used her business account to tell them she was unable to post on her main account.
“I set up my account while I was living in the US ... so my main account, I just can’t use it,” she said in a video posted to the platform. “Oh God, I’m stressed now.”
Under a law passed last year and upheld unanimously on Friday by the Supreme Court, the platform had until Sunday morning (4pm AEDT) to cut ties with its China-based parent ByteDance or shut down its US operation to resolve concerns it poses a threat to national security.
The outgoing Biden administration reiterated on Saturday that it was a matter for the incoming administration to take action.
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Reports from US media also indicated the app was unavailable in the Apple and Google app stores, with the conditions of the ban also preventing the tech giants from offering the app for download.
Since the announcement of the ban last year, numerous parties have been rumoured to be looking at acquiring the app’s US operations. However, finding a buyer has proven difficult given its estimated valuation of $US50 billion ($80 billion).
One such potential suitor is US search engine start-up Perplexity AI, which had submitted a bid on Saturday to ByteDance, Reuters reported. Other potential buyers include billionaire Elon Musk, and various investment consortiums, among them one led by Trump’s former Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin.
US tennis players competing at the Australian Open on Sunday afternoon expressed support for the app, with world No.3 Coco Gauff writing “RIP TikTok USA” on the camera lens following her win.
In advance of the ban, US TikTok users have been preparing to jump to alternative platforms, such as Meta’s Instagram Reels and RedNote, a Chinese social media app similar to Instagram that does not have an English language option.
Lemon8, providing a similar service to TikTok and also owned by ByteDance, was touted as an alternative, but was unavailable in the US as of Sunday. So too was CapCut, a video editing app also owned by the company.
In March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government had no plans to move beyond existing rules that forbid ministers and government officials using TikTok on phones with sensitive information.
“There are millions of Australians engaged in TikTok, who use it for communication with each other … you’ve got to think very carefully, in my view, before you start banning things as a first stop,” he said.
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With Reuters