TikTok goes darkish for 170 million customers in US, pins hope on Trump’s extension – Firstpost

After an extended authorized and political tussle, the favored video-sharing app TikTok lastly went offline in the US. The app went right down to 170 million customers hours after the regulation banning the platform was as a result of come into impact. On Saturday evening, when the customers tried to open the app, a message appeared for US customers that mentioned a regulation banning TikTok had been enacted, that means “you possibly can’t use TikTok for now.”

“We’re lucky that President Trump has indicated that he’ll work with us on an answer to reinstate TikTok as soon as he takes workplace,” the app mentioned in an alert to its customers. TikTok went offline a day after the social media app mentioned that it might “go darkish” on Sunday except the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban wouldn’t be enforced.

In the meantime, incoming US President Donald Trump mentioned that he’ll “most definitely” give the app a 90-day reprieve from a ban as soon as he takes workplace on Monday. That is the primary time in the US {that a} social media platform as huge as TikTok has merely shut down with none indication of if or when it should come again on-line. The app has been beneath scrutiny as a result of its mother or father firm is a Chinese language agency referred to as ByteDance.

App faraway from app shops

Based on The Verge, the app abruptly disappeared from each Apple and Google’s app shops. A number of customers additionally reported that it was unavailable on the internet as effectively. Simply hours earlier than the app went offline, US President Joe Biden’s administration referred to as TikTok’s menace to go offline a “stunt.” The outgoing workforce additionally handed over the accountability to impose the regulation on the incoming Trump administration.

As per the report, the social media platform additionally shared an e-mail to its staff, sharing the information of the shutdown. “President Trump has indicated that he’ll work with us on an answer to reinstate TikTok as soon as he takes workplace” on January twentieth and that “groups are working tirelessly to carry our app again to the U.S. as quickly as attainable.”

One other app referred to as CapCut, which is owned by ByteDance was additionally shut down with a warning message. Each apps started blocking customers at round 10:30 PM (native time). The ban-or-divest regulation, which matches into impact on Sunday, successfully bans TikTok except ByteDance sells a lot of its stake within the firm. Nevertheless, the China-based agency has proven little signal of being keen to promote, even because the deadline quickly approaches. As a substitute, TikTok challenged the regulation within the Supreme Courtroom which in the end upheld the ban.