“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,” Trump posted. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
TikTok’s official statement followed Trump’s comments, reassuring users of their efforts to restore access.
The Impact of the Law Banning TikTok
Access to TikTok began shutting down for some users approximately 90 minutes before the law took effect. The app became unavailable on Apple’s App Store and Google Play by midnight.
Some users experienced sporadic video functionality, while others encountered a blacked-out screen indicating network issues.
On its website, TikTok informed users they could still log in to download their data. By Sunday afternoon, the platform updated its message to say, “We’re working hard to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience.”
Political Pushback and Legal Challenges
The new law does not directly ban TikTok but prohibits access to the platform via app stores and cloud services unless its parent company, ByteDance, divests itself from ownership tied to adversarial countries like China.
