TikTok plans to officially end its service in the United States.

TikTok has confirmed that it will end its service in the United States on January 19, 2024. The company states that it is working to restore the service "as soon as possible".

The Official Start of TikTok's Ban

This is the full text of the notification you will see when opening TikTok tonight.

Important Update from TikTok

Sorry, but due to US law, the service of TikTok will be temporarily unavailable as of January 19, 2023.

We are working as quickly as possible to restore the service in the US. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Please check this message.

As of 9 PM on January 18, TikTok is still available in the United States. With midnight arriving and the calendar switching to January 19, the situation may change.

TikTok's Chinese partner ByteDance failed to sell the app required by the US or avoid international bans, leading to the shutdown decision. ByteDance was given nine months to remove TikTok, but the deadline is tonight at midnight. TikTok has taken the case to the US Supreme Court and believes the law will be upheld on Friday.

I requested comments from Apple regarding TikTok's ban due to legal regulations. According to the law, Apple and Google will no longer be able to host TikTok in the App Store and Play Store starting tomorrow. The Information reports that Oracle, a major cloud computing provider for US TikTok, plans to stop its servers tonight.

Can Trump Save TikTok?

There is much political involvement in the United States. This ban will take effect on January 19, the day after Joe Biden's term as president ends. On Monday, Donald Trump will officially take office. The Biden government has largely handed over the responsibility of enforcing the law to the Trump government, but the law remains technically valid until today.

In an interview with NBC News today, Trump stated that there is a "high possibility" of extending TikTok for 90 days.

That is certainly a reviewable option in my view. A 90-day extension seems reasonable and would be the most likely one. I have to think carefully about this. It is a very big situation," Trump said during a phone interview. "If I make that decision, it will probably be announced on Monday."

According to an internal memo from Saturday night (obtained by The Verge), TikTok informed its users of optimism regarding the app's future under President Trump.

This is disappointing for you, employees and users. However, fortunately, President Trump has shown that he is working with us to find a solution to restore TikTok. Our team is working day and night to get the app back in the US as soon as possible.

If Trump succeeds, TikTok may return to the US for at least 90 days starting the day after tomorrow. However, what happens afterward is still unknown. Trump was a supporter of banning TikTok during his first term. Both parties largely supported the law that took effect this morning last year.

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