‘This is so dystopian’: TikTok influencers in panic as app finally goes dark in the US

On Saturday (January 18) many people across the U.S. logged onto TikTok only for a message to appear on their screens telling them that it “isn’t available right now.”

For weeks, influencers who depended on the app for their income tried to remain hopeful that a U.S. company would purchase it before the ban went into effect,

The shutdown comes after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a law barring TikTok from U.S. consumers, citing threats to national security. President Joe Biden signed legislation in April requiring TikTok to be sold by its owner, Chinese company ByteDance, or face a ban.

Leading up to the ban, many influencers spoke to their fans one last time either to thank their viewers or explain what they were going to do next, such as turning to the Chinese app, Rednote.

Makeup artist, James Charles, reflected on the loss of the app by posting a video of himself on his Instagram Story saying that he had no idea what to do with himself and “probably opened the app like six times just to get the same stupid message.”

“This is so dystopian,” he said. “First of all, I feel pathetic that I’m freaking out like this over an application being unavailable on my phone, but also, this has been a massive part of our lives for the last six years and normally when something like this happens I would get on TikTok and start complaining and I can’t even do that.”

“I feel cut off from the world and my community,” he added. “Now I’m rooting for Trump? Ew. Make America great again, I guess.”

However, other influencers such as Emily Senn, who had 348,000 followers on the platform, cried over losing TikTok as she explained how it helped her get through some tough times in her life.

“To the U.S. government, I’m never forgiving you for this,” she said. “And I’m never going to trust you ever again because you, just like that, took away millions of people’s incomes and livelihoods. Who does that?”

“The pandemic, losing my job, all of that. Getting divorced, all of this s*** that’s happened to me in the last five years since I’ve been on here,” she added Hours and hours and hours of time I put into creating stuff for this platform.”

Alix Earle, who had more than seven million followers on the app, posted a video of herself tearfully holding a glass of wine in bed. “How I’m going to sleep tonight,” she wrote over the video. “Thank god for this wine rn.”

“It’s really hitting me because I feel it’s like in a world where there’s so much judgment, TikTok provided a place where I can be free, I can be cringe, I can be who I am,” said Riri Bichri, a New York-based content creator known for her 2000s nostalgia parody videos.

“I shouldn’t cry about something so stupid, but it really changed my life,” she added.

Another influencer with over two million followers under the username “chloebuffcakes” also cried about the loss of her community.

“I’m just watching the life and community I built be torn down,” she said. “An app that has given millions of women financial independence and supported seven million small businesses. Where I shared losing my mom to brain cancer and became financially able to raise my seve-year-old sister.”

However, on Sunday (January 19), TikTok released a statement saying it had reached an agreement with its service providers after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday giving ByteDance, its parent company, an extension to find a buyer.

“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the app said in a statement.

“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”

TikTok added: “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”