TikTok has officially announced that it is shutting down in the United States on January 19th after no shortage of back and forth. TikTok is one of the biggest apps on the entire planet. It largely changed the way many consume media over the last decade or so and succeeded Vine, another app for short form videos. TikTok grew extremely popular for its incredibly addictive algorithm that provided videos that targeted users based on their interests. While most social media platform apps do this, TikTok’s algorithm is certainly one of the best at keeping users engaged for extended periods of time.
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Unfortunately, the United States government has been talking about banning TikTok for years and now, it’s finally happening. After a ruling from the Supreme Court, TikTok will officially be banned on Sunday, January 19th. TikTok has confirmed that it will pull the plug via a message on its own app. Users will automatically see the message when they open the app now. The message reads as the following: “We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
TikTok’s message references that this is “temporary” and is aiming to return as soon as possible. This is likely because President-elect Donald Trump looks to undo the TikTok ban and offer the social media giant a 90-day extension to adhere to the United States’ wishes. The aim is to have TikTok owner Bytedance sell TikTok to a United States owner as the U.S. claims there is national security concerns with the current Chinese owner. Some critics of the ban have argued that this concern is not legitimate and is a larger guise for the United States’ own less legitimate reasoning for wanting to ban the app.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew reportedly plans to attend Trump’s inauguration on the 20th, suggesting a closer, productive relationship that may yield a favorable outcome for TikTok. Only time will tell what really happens. It’s unclear if TikTok services will be restored immediately should Trump grant this extension or if there will be some extended downtime. However, this means the earliest we can expect TikTok’s return is Monday, January 20th or Tuesday, January 21st. TikTok users have been preparing for the ban by using other apps such as a Chinese app called RedNote and more traditional competitors like Instagram Reels.
