TikTok Availability Restored
TikTok has become available to users in the US again, just hours after it was shut down by the Supreme Court.
The social media platform shut down operations in the country on Saturday (Jan. 18) after a court set a Sunday deadline for it to sell the site to American owners or address national security concerns identified by Congress.
“Sorry, TikTok is unavailable right now. A law has been passed in the US to ban TikTok. Unfortunately, this means that you cannot use TikTok for now,” this was the message users of the application saw after it was closed.
“We are fortunate that President Trump has made it clear that he will work with us on a solution to rebuild TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
The president-elect later said he would “likely” grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban following his inauguration on Monday (Jan. 20), saying it would be an “appropriate” action.
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing needed clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties by providing TikTok to more than 170…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025
Resumption of Services
Around noon ET on Sunday (Jan. 19), the Chinese-owned platform resumed service to its 170 million U.S. users, with the company saying they were “in the process of restoring service.”
“We thank President Trump for providing needed clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties while bringing TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and allowing more than 7 million small businesses to thrive.”
“This is a strong stance in defense of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that will keep TikTok in the United States,” they added.
Future Questions and Concerns
The site’s future was first thrown into question when its Chinese parent company ByteDance last month lost an appeal against a US law aimed at banning it. ByteDance has also repeatedly said it does not want to sell, although it would allow it to remain available in the country.
The measure to sell or ban TikTok was signed into law by the outgoing Biden last year amid claims that the company’s ownership structure could allow the Chinese government to access the data of millions of its American users.
It has been estimated that the consequences of TikTok being banned in the US could have a significant impact on the music industry. A recent report from the platform claimed that the majority of singles topping the US and UK charts in 2024 were from a TikTok trend.
Celebrities including Lizzo and Kesha reacted to the app’s closure, with some calling it a “dystopian” moment.
https://www.nme.com/news/music/tiktok-made-available-in-the-us-again-just-hours-after-shutdown-3830190?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tiktok-made-available-in-the-us-again-just-hours-after-shutdown
