TikTok has officially become inaccessible in the United States.
The popular video-sharing app, which had a user base of 170 million in the U.S., was removed from major app stores in the country on Saturday (January 18). This happened just before a federal law, which aimed to ban the social media platform, was set to be implemented.
By 10:50 PM Eastern Standard Time, TikTok was no longer available on the app stores of Apple and Google.
Users attempting to access the app received the following notification: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
“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!”
While the details of the ‘solution’ remain uncertain, it might involve a purchase by one of the multimillionaires who have shown interest—like MrBeast.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, tweeted on January 14: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”
His tweet quickly gained traction, prompting him to update his followers.
“Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off,” the 26-year-old said.
In a TikTok video, he added: “Just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires, TikTok, we mean business.”
Fans of TikTok have been eagerly awaiting more updates from the successful YouTuber as the ban goes into effect.
In response to calls for him to buy the app on Twitter, MrBeast replied to a post, stating: “Can’t say anything right now, stay tuned.”
According to TikTok’s message to its users, it is anticipated that President-elect Donald Trump may intervene to ‘save’ the app.
He has suggested that he would ‘most likely’ grant TikTok an additional 90 days to finalize a deal that could prevent the U.S. ban.
In an NBC News interview, Trump mentioned that he is still undecided but is considering extending a reprieve to TikTok after he is inaugurated.
Trump’s second inauguration is scheduled for tomorrow (January 20).
Meanwhile, TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users will have to wait and see if the app will be preserved from obsolescence.