TikTok Has Officially Gone Dark: Here Are the Best Memes
We're laughing through the pain.
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TikTok Has Officially Gone Dark in the U.S. Here Are the Best Reactions
By Ashleigh Carter
January 19, 2025
CFOTO/Getty Images
Well, it's over (for now).
TikTok officially went dark for American users late on Saturday, January 18 — hours before the official ban of the video app took effect in the U.S. Millions of users were affected by the ban as 59% of American adults under 30 use the app, according to the Pew Research Center. The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app or be banned in the U.S. The unanimous decision backed up the Biden administration's “national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Users were met with two pop-up messages on Saturday night; the first was a simple warning that a U.S. law banning TikTok will render “our services temporarily unavailable.” Shortly after, the app sent another message that named President-Elect Donald Trump specifically.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message read, before forcing users to close the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
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While TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew indicated in a video message on Friday that he was working closely with Trump to find a solution to reverse the ban once he takes office on January 20, many have pointed out that it was actually Trump who began the process of banning the app in 2020. While he was in his first term of presidency, Trump signed an executive order that imposed sanctions on TikTok, requiring the app to sell its assets to an American company.
In a phone interview with NBC's Meet the Press on Saturday, Trump said he was likely planning a 90-day extension for TikTok to find a solution.
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” he said.
While Trump appears to be swooping in at the eleventh hour to reinstate the app, some people are questioning if his motives are to win over young Americans by “saving” TikTok.
For weeks, TikTok users were discussing where they were headed next, with many flocking to other Chinese video apps including Red Note and Lemon8.
As TikTok went dark, many users flocked to X — formerly Twitter — Instagram, and Threads to share their sadness about the TikTok ban in the only way they know how: memes. Here are some of the best reactions:
Ruby Davies✨ Romantasy Bookstagram 🇦🇺 (@rubycanread) on Threads
This is what is happening on tiktok right now for you American folk 😂
www.threads.net
Ruby Davies✨ Romantasy Bookstagram 🇦🇺 (@rubycanread) on Threads
Okay funny prank America you can come back to TikTok now. America? AMERICA???
www.threads.net
Ashleigh Carter is a New York City-based writer, social media editor, and pop culture junkie. She's obsessed with all things Beyoncé, rom-coms, and going down TikTok rabbit holes.
Keywords tiktok Social Media