TikTok goes dark in US as Trump seeks reprieve from ban

WASHINGTON: TikTok went acheronian successful the United States connected Sunday arsenic millions of dismayed users recovered themselves barred from the fashionable app, with President-elect Donald Trump vowing to question a reprieve.

Hours earlier a instrumentality banning the Chinese-owned level successful the sanction of nationalist information came into effect, TikTok was removed from app stores and told users attempting to log connected that nether the caller authorities “you can’t usage TikTok for now.”

It said “we are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that helium volition enactment with america connected a solution to reinstate TikTok erstwhile helium takes office. Please enactment tuned!”

Trump, who had antecedently backed a prohibition and during his archetypal word successful bureau made moves towards one, posted “Save TikTok!” connected his ain Truth Social level aboriginal Sunday.

The blackout followed a US Supreme Court determination connected Friday to uphold the authorities banning the video-sharing platform, unless Chinese proprietor ByteDance reached a woody to merchantability it to non-Chinese buyers by Sunday.

From teenage dancers to grandmothers sharing cooking tips, TikTok has been embraced for its quality to alteration mean users into planetary celebrities erstwhile a video goes viral.

It besides present has a instrumentality successful Trump, who since signing an enforcement bid stepping up unit connected ByteDance to merchantability successful 2020 has credited the app with connecting him to younger voters.

After discussing TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump told NBC News connected Saturday that helium could activate a 90-day reprieve aft helium reclaims the Oval Office connected Monday.

The instrumentality allows a 90-day hold if the White House tin amusement advancement toward a viable deal, but ByteDance has flatly refused immoderate sale.

Outgoing President Joe Biden’s medication has said it volition permission the substance to Trump and that it would not enforce immoderate ban.

It is unclear what the incoming president tin bash to assistance the prohibition unless ByteDance sells, however.

“Congress wrote this instrumentality to beryllium virtually president-proof,“ warned Adam Kovacevich, main enforcement of manufacture commercialized radical Chamber of Progress.

‘I emotion TikTok’

Besides removing TikTok from app stores, the instrumentality requires Apple and Google to artifact caller downloads, with the companies liable for penalties of up to $5,000 per idiosyncratic if the app is accessed.

Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, would besides beryllium legally obligated to enforce the ban.

Other societal media platforms specified arsenic X were flooded with memes and comments mourning the determination aboriginal Sunday -- though immoderate posts were much cynical, with galore pointing to Trump’s ain erstwhile efforts to prohibition TikTok.

“Nothing is much American than banning TikTok earlier AR-15s,“ posted X idiosyncratic David Leavitt, referring to an automatic limb often utilized successful US wide shootings.

In Europe, TikTok’s suspension drew praise from the overseas curate of Estonia -- among the countries astir resilient to disinformation, according to the European Media Literacy Index.

“Banning TikTok indispensable beryllium considered successful Europe arsenic well,“ Margus Tsahkna said connected X, adding that the US banned app has been utilized to dispersed disinformation and manipulate elections, and is known to airs a nationalist information risk.

The prohibition adjacent became a blistery taxable astatine the Australian Open tennis successful Melbourne, wherever American subordinate Coco Gauff scrawled “RIP TikTok USA” connected a courtside camera.

“I could not entree it aft my match,“ Gauff said aft winning her fourth-round match.

“I emotion TikTok, it’s similar an escape... hopefully it comes back,“ the satellite fig 3 told reporters.

Offers for TikTok

A last-minute connection made Saturday by the highly valued start-up Perplexity AI offered a merger with the US subsidiary of TikTok, a root with cognition of the woody told AFP.

The connection did not see a terms but the root estimated it would outgo astatine slightest $50 billion.

Frank McCourt, the erstwhile Los Angeles Dodgers owner, has besides made an connection to acquisition TikTok’s US activity.

Meanwhile, thousands of disquieted TikTok users turned to Xiaohongshu (”Little Red Book”), a Chinese societal media web akin to Instagram, up of the suspension.

Nicknamed “Red Note” by its American users, it was the astir downloaded app connected the US Apple Store past week.