TikTok is the talk of the town in the US…at least right now.
The social media giant, best known for its users sharing real-life videos, went dark for 170 million Americans late Saturday night.
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While this was going down, the China-based company issued two statements, with the first informing everyone that it would be closing on Sunday – but shortly afterwards a second message was released saying that a US law banning TikTok unfortunately came into force.
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The company added that it feels fortunate to be president Donald Trump stated that he would work with TikTok to restart the service after he takes office.
On Saturday, Trump called the host of “Meet The Press.” Kristen Welkerand told her he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve as he assesses the situation after his inauguration on Monday.
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TMZ.com
In addition, TikTok's app was deleted from major app stores such as Apple and Google shortly before the federal law was implemented on Saturday.
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The law bans app stores from offering TikTok and requires the platform's owner – ByteDance – to sell it or see it banned. ByteDance has obviously chosen the second option.
As you know… For years, Congress has been warning about the pitfalls of TikTok, calling it a national security threat due to its ties to China, which can potentially access American users' personal data.