NEW YORK, Jan 19: TikTok’s application was taken down from major app stores on Saturday evening, just hours before a federal law banning the widely used social media platform came into effect.
By 10:50 PM Eastern Standard Time, the app was no longer available on Apple and Google’s app stores, following a law that mandated TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, based in China, to divest from the platform or face a ban in the US.
Users attempting to access TikTok on Saturday evening were met with a notification that disabled video scrolling.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US,” the notification stated. “Unfortunately, this means you cannot use TikTok for the time being.”
“We are optimistic that President Trump will collaborate with us to find a solution to reinstate TikTok after taking office,” the message continued. “Please stay tuned! (AP)
