A new law banning TikTok in the US has come into effect, causing the popular app to stop working across the country. The ban is due to concerns over the app’s links to the Chinese government. Users are being forced to temporarily suspend their services until a solution can be found.
President Joe Biden had previously left the issue for his successor, Donald Trump, who has announced plans to potentially give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban once he takes office. Despite this, the US Supreme Court upheld the law in April last year, requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell the platform by Sunday.
The US ban is the first of its kind for a major social media platform. Users have taken to posting farewell videos on the app before it went offline, citing concerns over their livelihoods and the loss of educational content.
However, not all countries are expected to follow the US lead. The UK has stated that they have no plans to ban TikTok unless there is a significant threat to British interests.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6p1g54q85o