TikTok has gone offline in the US, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect.
A message appearing on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning “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,” it read.
It comes after the social media platform warned it would “go dark” on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban will not be enforced.
President-elect Donald Trump earlier said he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban once he takes office on Monday.
Users reported the app had also been removed from both Apple and Google’s US app stores and TikTok.com was not showing videos.
Lawmakers voted to ban the app last year over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly stated it does not share information with Beijing.
The law, passed in April last year, required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the US version of the platform to a neutral party by 19 January to avert an outright ban, which it has not done.
TikTok challenged the law, arguing that it violates free speech protections for its 170 million users in the country.
In the hours leading up to the social media platform going offline, content creators had been posting videos to say goodbye to their followers.
Creator Nicole Bloomgarden told the BBC that not being on TikTok would result in a significant salary cut.
Another user Erika Thompson said educational content on the platform would be the “biggest loss” for the community.
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
