Breaking: TikTok Ban Takes Effect in U.S. as Trump Pledges to Restore Platform
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TikTok is now banned in the U.S. after a law forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from the platform took effect Sunday.
The legislation that Congress passed last year gave ByteDance until January 19, 2025 to divest from TikTok. Otherwise, the platform would become unavailable on prominent app stores in the U.S.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld that law on Friday, affirming Congress’s decision to impose the ban for national-security reasons. Since TikTok is primarily owned by a company connected to the Chinese Communist Party, federal lawmakers and Justice Department officials were concerned that the app collected and sent personal data on U.S. citizens to China.
TikTok felt differently, arguing that the ban infringes on its First Amendment rights and that the law requiring divestment from ByteDance is "not possible technologically, commercially, or legally," particularly by the January 19 deadline. Their appeal was ultimately unsuccessful.
While TikTok remains banned in the U.S. for now, the incoming administration could change that. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension to find a U.S. buyer after taking office on Monday.
Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary and YouTuber MrBeast are among the figures reportedly interested in buying TikTok. O’Leary said he offered $20 billion in cash for the app, while MrBeast said he would buy it after meeting with billionaires. Elon Musk’s name also emerged as a potential buyer among Chinese officials, although a TikTok spokesperson dismissed that possibility as “pure fiction.”
Trump is considering temporarily suspending the ban via an executive order.
"I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it's appropriate. You know, it's appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It's a very big situation," Trump told NBC News host Kristen Welker in a phone interview on Saturday.
"If I decide to do that, I'll probably announce it on Monday," he added.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to restore the platform if the ban went into effect by January 19. Trump reiterated his promise on Truth Social with a simple message Sunday morning: “SAVE TIKTOK!”
While President Joe Biden signed the TikTok divest-or-ban bill last April, his administration said it wouldn’t enforce the law. Instead, the outgoing president will leave its implementation up to his successor.
Users who tried accessing the app late Saturday night were greeted with a pop-up message saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message reads. “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!”
Despite trying to ban TikTok himself during his first term, Trump has become more sympathetic to TikTok’s survival. Notably, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration.
In the days prior to TikTok’s ban, many American users flocked to a Chinese replacement called Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. The Mandarin name translates to “little red book,” referring to the notorious book of quotations from Mao Zedong, who founded Communist China.
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