TikTok goes dark in US

WASHINGTON - The popular video-sharing app TikTok went dark late Saturday in the United States.

TikTok users in the country were greeted with a message that read: "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."

"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now," read the message, adding that: "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!"

US President-elect Donald Trump said earlier on Saturday that he will "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day extension on Inauguration Day, which is Monday.

In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he hadn't made a final decision on TikTok but was considering a 90-day extension of the Sunday deadline.

"I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it's appropriate," Trump said in the phone interview. "We have to look at it carefully. It's a very big situation."

TikTok, headquartered in Los Angeles, warned Friday that it will be forced to shut down its services for the 170 million users in the United States on Sunday unless US President Joe Biden provides a "definitive" assurance.

Earlier on Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law forcing TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American company or face a nationwide ban starting on Sunday, just one day before Trump's inauguration.

In the wake of the decision, millions of users flocked to TikTok's site to express their support for the platform.

The White House responded shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling, shifting responsibility to TikTok and Trump.

In April 2024, Biden signed the bill requiring ByteDance to sell the app within 270 days, citing unfounded national security concerns.

If the company fails to comply, the law mandates that app store operators like Apple and Google remove TikTok from their platforms starting Jan 19, 2025.

Business insiders warned that unless the Biden administration provides clarity that TikTok's service providers will not be penalized for violating the ban, these companies will be forced to comply with the law.