Less than 24 hours after it went dark, TikTok says after President-elect Donald Trump assured the company’s service providers — presumably Apple, Google and Oracle — that his administration would not enforce the ban on its apps. It’s back online. first place
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is restoring service,” the company wrote in a statement. We thank President Trump for providing transparency and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties for providing TikTok. More than 170 million Americans and allowing more than 7 million small businesses to take a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship is the long-term solution that will keep TikTok in the United States.”
It’s the latest in a dramatic battle over TikTok’s future in the US. Last year, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest its US operations or face a ban starting January 19. TikTok sued on First Amendment grounds but lost in the Supreme Court. Last night, Apple and Google removed the app from their respective app stores, along with many apps developed by ByteDance. According to The Information, Oracle has told its employees to shut down servers that host US TikTok data.
The move paved the way for President-elect Trump, who tried to ban TikTok while in office, to save the app before he was sworn in as president. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period before the law’s bans go into effect so we can strike a deal to protect our national security,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday morning. “This order also confirms that there will be no liability for any company that helped prevent TikTok from going dark prior to my order.”
Technically, the law would only allow Trump to extend the deadline if ByteDance makes real progress on a deal to divest its US operations. Among those named as potential buyers: Elon Musk and fellow billionaire Frank McCourt. While McCourt made a formal offer, Musk’s name came up in discussions with the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg. “I would like the United States to have a 50 percent ownership position in a joint venture,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “By doing this, we’re saving TikTok, holding it in our hands and letting it speak for itself. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars—perhaps trillions.
TikTok, along with other ByteDance-owned apps, has yet to return to US app stores since its release. But several users have reported that they are able to access their timelines again after being unavailable last night. Others had regained access to their accounts, but with varying degrees of performance.
