National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Ekpenyong Emmanuel
In a dramatic turn of events, TikTok disconnected access to its users in the United States late Saturday, shortly before a national ban on the app was set to take effect.
This move comes after months of legal battles and failed negotiations with the US government.
A message to users attempting to access the app read:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
However, the company remains hopeful, stating,
“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!”.
The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would ban TikTok unless its Chinese owners, ByteDance, reach a deal to sell it to non-Chinese buyers.
Despite this, ByteDance has refused to sell, leaving the app’s future in the US uncertain.
In a last-ditch effort, Perplexity AI, a highly-valued startup, offered a merger with TikTok’s US subsidiary.
This proposal could potentially allow ByteDance to find a solution without selling off the app entirely.
Frank McCourt, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, has also made an offer to purchase TikTok’s US activity.
As the ban takes effect, TikTok’s US-based rivals, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, may benefit from the shutdown.
Meanwhile, thousands of worried TikTok users have turned to Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media network similar to Instagram.
