Find out more with free updates

Briefly write to Technical field myFT Digest — delivered straight to your inbox.

TikTok told its 170mn US users on Saturday that it would no longer be available “temporarily” after a period of time for Chinese parent company Bytedance to sell its stake in the app or be banned.

In the form that appeared when users opened the short video app, the company wrote: “We regret that the US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to temporarily disable our services.”

It added: “We are working to restore our operations in the US as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support.” Please stay awake.” The program is still working for users.

On Friday, the United States Supreme Court upheld an order passed by Congress last year that required ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban on Sunday, due to concerns that the platform could be used by Beijing for espionage or propaganda.

On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he “might” extend the deadline by 90 days when he enters the White House on Monday.

However, the law will prohibit from midnight companies such as Apple, Google and Oracle from providing services to distribute or host the video program, or charge a fine of $5,000 per user.

Late on Friday, TikTok said that the statements of the White House and the Department of Justice “failed to provide clarity and assurance to service providers that is necessary for TikTok to be available” in the US, and without “A clear statement to meet the most difficult service providers to ensure non-enforcement, TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.

This is a growing issue.