The Chinese company, ByteDance shut down a number of its platforms in the United States on Sunday. TikTok, the very popular video-sharing app is among the apps shutdown. This came after a recent Supreme Court decision.
A number of other apps—including the photo-sharing service, Lemon8—are no longer accessible to users in the United States.
Why This Really Matters
There has been discussion about how TikTok’s prohibition due to national security issues with its parent company ByteDance may affect the freedom of speech of its 170 million American users.
What To Know
The US Congress voted to impose a ban on TikTok in April 2024 because of concerns about ByteDance’s alleged ties to the Chinese government.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) decision that TikTok will be banned unless ByteDance sells the app by Sunday was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Late on Saturday evening, TikTok started to ban access. According to a message that appears when users in the United States attempt to open the app, TikTok is “fortunate” that President-elect Donald Trump has stated he will work on the ban once he takes office on Monday.
In a recent NBC interview, Trump insinuated that he might grant TikTok a 90-day extension to keep the app running in the interim.
A number of additional ByteDance apps have been withdrawn as a result of the Supreme Court verdict. Two TikTok subsidiaries that have also been blocked include TikTok Studio and TikTok Shop Seller Center.
List of Apps That Have Gone Offline Along With TikTok
CapCut: A video-editing app heavily affiliated with TikTok.
Lemon8: A fast growing lifestyle platform focusing on sharing photo and video content on social media.
Gauth: An app that help students with homework and provide productivity tips using artificial intelligence.
Hypic: A photo-editing application with artificial intelligence heavily featured.
Lark: A Chinese messaging and collaboration app similar to Slack.
Melolo: A Poligon managed short-form video streaming app featuring drama content, available in Southeast Asia.
Fizzo: An e-book reading platform managed by Poligon.
Tokopedia: A popular Indonesian online shopping platform.
Marvel Snap: Apple has confirmed the removal of the superhero card game Marvel Snap.
TikTok message to US users: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. 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!”
President-elect Donald Trump said on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Saturday: “I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be considered.”
Apple’s statement on its website read “If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain there.”
“However, they cannot be redownloaded or restored if deleted or transferred to a different device. In-app purchases and subscriptions are no longer available.”
“Users in the United States will not receive updates for these apps, which could have an impact on performance, security, and compatibility with future iOS and iPadOS releases, Some of its functionality may be limited or cease to function because the program cannot get updates”.
What’s Next?
Trump told NBC News that he will “probably” make an announcement on TikTok on Monday, immediately after his inauguration.
