With TikTok, CapCut, and Marvel Snap shut down in the US, Apple has taken the unusual step of articulating why it’s following the law banning ByteDance apps and removing them from the App Stores for the Mac, iPhone, and other devices.

It's not the first time TikTok has sent a politically motivated pop-up message about the U.S. government's efforts to ban the app due to concerns over its Chinese ownership. In March 2024, the app asked users to call their representatives to ask for an end to the ban.

Apple Inc. and Google removed TikTok from their mobile app stores in the US as required by a law that took effect Sunday, after the social media company’s legal challenges failed to head off the measure passed last year to address national security concerns.

The app had more than 170 million monthly users in the U.S. The black-out is the result of a law forcing the service offline unless it sheds its ties to ByteDance, its China-based parent company.

President-elect Donald Trump says he “most likely” will give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a U.S. ban