Washington
TikTok has stopped working in America, Reuters has given this information in its report. This means that people in the US can no longer use this popular short-video platform. After months of legal battles, on Friday, January 17, the US Supreme Court approved a law to ban TikTok, citing national security concerns. According to the report, TikTok users are seeing this message when they open the app in the US:
“A law has been made in America to ban TikTok. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok right now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us to reintroduce TikTok once he takes office. Please stay”.
Why did America ban TikTok?
According to the report, American officials have expressed concern about TikTok and claimed that it is a threat to national security. They believe the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans or covertly influence public opinion by controlling what content is shown or hidden. This concern stems from Chinese national security laws, which require companies to assist in intelligence activities. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last year that the Chinese government could access and compromise Americans’ devices through TikTok’s software.
These concerns led the US Congress to pass a law banning TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it to a buyer approved by the US government. President Joe Biden signed the law into law in April 2024, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok. However, attempts by ByteDance to challenge the law in court failed.
On December 6, a panel of three federal judges unanimously ruled against TikTok, rejecting its argument that the law violated free speech rights under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected TikTok’s appeal on January 17, resulting in the ban coming into effect on January 19.
What’s next for TikTok
TikTok’s future in the US remains uncertain. Over time, it is expected that the app will stop working properly, as updates and support will be blocked from app stores like Apple and Google under the new law. Ultimately, TikTok may become completely unusable in the country.
Now all eyes are on newly elected President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to take office on January 20. In a recent statement to NBC, Trump called the TikTok situation a “very big situation” and said he plans to push back a potential TikTok ban by 90 days. Until then, TikTok users and businesses that depended on the app for growth will face an uncertain future, as the app has already stopped working in the US.