TikTok removed from app stores ahead of US law banning platform

TikTok’s app was removed from prominent app stores in the US on Saturday just before a federal law that would have banned the popular social media platform was scheduled to go into effect.

By 10.50pm Eastern Standard Time, the app was not found on Apple and Google’s app stores.

The stores are prohibited from offering the platform under the law, which takes effect on Sunday, required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the platform or face a US ban.

When users opened the TikTok app on Saturday evening, they encountered a pop-up message from the company that prevented them from scrolling on videos.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US,” the message said. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

The message continued: “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!”

Before that announcement, the company had said in another message to users that its service would be “temporarily unavailable” and told them its working to restore its US service “as soon as possible”.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “most likely” give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a US ban.

Mr Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday.

The federal law, that was signed by President Joe Biden last year, required ByteDance to divest its stake in the TikTok’s US platform or face a ban. ByteDance had nine months to sell the US operation to an approved buyer.

The company, and TikTok, chose to take legal action against the law and ultimately lost their fight at the Supreme Court on Friday.

Under the statute, mobile app stores are barred from offering TikTok and internet hosting services are prohibited from delivering the service to American users.

Both White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said on Friday that the Biden administration would leave the law’s implementation to Mr Trump, given that his inauguration falls the day after the ban takes effect.

In a statement later on Friday, TikTok asked for “a definitive statement” saying the Biden administration would not enforce the law or try to fine app store operators such as Apple and Google and other US companies if they do not stop making TikTok available on Sunday.

Without those assurances, TikTok said it “will be forced to go dark”.

The company did not provide details, including whether it would voluntarily shut down its US platform at midnight or suspend its operations after losing access to service providers it relies on.