Coco Gauff hopes TikTok ban in US is short-lived
“RIP TikTok USA,” Coco Gauff wrote while heading into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday after the popular app used by 170 million Americans stopped working in the United States. ” and drew a broken heart on the camera lens.
The TikTok app was removed from prominent app stores, including those run by Apple and Google, on Saturday night, while the company's website told users that the short-form social media video platform was no longer available. The outage began just hours before the federal ban on TikTok took effect.
Gauff, who has more than 750,000 followers on TikTok, said on Sunday she might have more time to pursue other interests as she was unable to access the app on her phone in Melbourne.
“Honestly, I think I can get away with it because I'm in Australia,” said Gauff, who beat Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth round. “I guess it has something to do with my number. I don't know. I'll have to do some research.
“Hopefully it comes back. It's really sad. I love TikTok. It's like an escape. Honestly, I do it before games. I think it will force me to read more and maybe become a more productive person Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
US President-elect Donald Trump said he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from its ban after taking office on Monday.
On Saturday, users opening the TikTok app encountered a pop-up message that prevented them from scrolling through the video, saying “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.”
“The United States has enacted laws banning TikTok,” the source said. “Unfortunately, this means you can't use TikTok right now. We are fortunate that President Trump has said he will work with us to develop a solution once he takes office , you can restore TikTok.”
TikTok also told users to stay tuned. Gauff added Sunday that she had a feeling TikTok would make a comeback in some way.
Aryna Sabalenka, the defending Australian Open champion who lives in Miami and is a big fan of TikTok, said she also hopes for a resolution soon.
The Belarusian player, who has more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, recreated a viral dance video with fans at Rod Laver Arena following her first-round win a week ago.
“This is not something we can control and I hope they can address this because I love TikTok,” she said.
In Washington, lawmakers and government officials have long expressed concerns about the app, which they believe poses a national security threat because of its Chinese ownership. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based technology company ByteDance, which operates popular video editing apps CapCut and Lemon8, both of which were also unavailable on Saturday night.
Federal law requires ByteDance to sever ties with TikTok by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. The legislation was included in a $95 billion package of foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel and passed by Congress in April. President Joe Biden quickly signed the deal, and TikTok and ByteDance quickly filed lawsuits on First Amendment grounds.
While defending the law in court, the Biden administration has argued that it is concerned that TikTok collects vast amounts of U.S. user data that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.
Officials also warned that the algorithms that power the content users see on apps are vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who could use it to shape content on the platform in ways that are difficult to detect. But so far, the United States has not publicly provided evidence that TikTok handed over user data to Chinese authorities or modified its algorithm to benefit China.
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that TikTok's ties to China pose a risk to national security, overcoming concerns about limiting the speech of the app or its 170 million U.S. users.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.