BBC Breakfast delivered some breaking news on Sunday as presenter Luxmy Gopal announced the US ban on TikTok.
Luxmy unveiled the news, stating: “TikTok has gone offline in the US. A message on the app says the law banning the platform has been enacted, meaning you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Yet the BBC star noted that President-elect Donald Trump could potentially resolve the situation once he steps into office on Monday.
The broadcast then switched to Lily Jamali, BBC’s tech correspondent, who chimed in from San Francisco. She commented: “Well when I open up the app, I get this notification. It says, ‘Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now’. So, no cute cat videos or TikTok challenges. Just this notification.”
Lily went on to give viewers an insight into why the ban was put in place: “Last year, Congress enacted a law that was passed on national security grounds. They have been concerned, lawmakers have, about Chinese ownership of TikTok and what China might do with American user data.”
Lastly, Lily highlighted the omission in TikTok’s statement about a ‘ban’, pointing out that Congress had indeed given them the alternative to transfer ownership to a US company, reports the Express.
BBC enthusiasts discovered that the app had a nine-month window for a sale, which has not transpired. Lily added: “So, the app has gone dark, on schedule here this Sunday.”
Lily informed Luxmy that a multitude of TikTok users are left feeling sorely disappointed over the ban. Nonetheless, many remain hopeful that Donald Trump might rescue the platform from vanishing stateside.
Speaking of the former president’s efforts, she mentioned: “He (Donald Trump) has said that he will. He’s said that he’s spoken to Xi Jinping, the Chinese president and is hosting the CEO of TiKTok at his inauguration as one of his special guests on Monday, so a lot to stay tuned for.”
Lily continued, explaining Trump’s intentions: “He has said he’s likely to enact some kind of extension that’s allowed under the law if a sale is in the works, but it’s not. So, the legality of that is a little bit unclear right now.”
Public opinion about the suspension swamped other social channels such as Twitter, where one individual reeled: “NOOOOOOO TIKTOK ISNT WORKING ITS GONE NO GIVE IT BACK TO ME.”
Another expressed: “I keep instinctively opening TikTok..” A different user shared their frustration, adding: “I just got bored of scrolling on twitter and clicked on tiktok on instinct …. Y’all I can’t do it.”
Yet another was overwhelmed by the ban’s reality, tweeting: “ITS GONE ITS GONE NOOOOOOO TIKTOK NOOOOOOOO.”
BBC Breakfast continues weekdays on BBC One from 6am.