TikTok Service Restoration
TikTok is online again in America.
The social media platform announced on Sunday (Jan. 19) that it is in the process of restoring service in the US after President-elect Donald Trump provided “necessary clarity and assurance” to its service providers.
Closure Background
This development follows less than 24 hours after TikTok had to shut down its service in the US, impacting over 170 million users, on late Saturday (January 18) ahead of a law going into effect on Sunday that effectively banned the app from the market.
The closure was prompted by the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday (Jan. 17), which upheld a law mandating that TikTok’s U.S. operations be separated from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, citing national security concerns.
During the brief outage, US users attempting to access TikTok received a message stating:
“The US has passed a law banning TikTok. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok yet.
“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 for updates!
“In the meantime, you can still download your data.”
Google and Apple also removed TikTok from their app stores to comply with the law.
The outage did not solely affect TikTok; it extended to other ByteDance-owned apps, including the video editing platform CapCut and photo-sharing app Lemon8, which were also disabled in the US.
Shortly after TikTok went offline, President-elect Donald Trump intervened through mail on his social media platform, Truth Social, advocating for its continued accessibility.
“On Monday, I will issue an executive order extending the period of time before the law’s restrictions take effect so that we can reach a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that no company that helped prevent TikTok from disappearing before my order will be held liable in any way,” Trump wrote.
Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated today (January 20).
“On Monday, I will issue an executive order extending the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect so that we can reach a deal to protect our national security.”
Donald Trump
In response, TikTok stated, “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.”
“We thank President Trump for providing needed clarity and assurances to our service providers that they will not face any penalties if TikTok serves more than 170 million Americans and allows over 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 keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Restoration of the service began on Sunday afternoon, initially through web browsers and gradually extending to mobile devices.
Users returning to the platform were welcomed with a message: “Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. Thanks to the efforts of President Trump, TikTok is back in the US! You can continue to create, share and discover everything you love on TikTok.”
“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
TikTok
However, TikTok remains inaccessible for download from Apple‘s and Google‘s app stores.
Trump also proposed a 50% joint venture between TikTok and an American company.
“By doing this, we are saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and letting it have its say. There will be no TikTok without US approval. With our approval, it will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe trillions,” Trump stated.
“So my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the US would receive 50% of the shares of the joint venture created between the US and any purchase we choose.”
TikTok warned on Friday, following the Supreme Court ruling, that it would be “forced to go offline” in the US “if the Biden administration does not immediately provide a final statement to satisfy its most critical non-compliance service providers.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded on Saturday, characterizing the threat to shut down TikTok as a “stunt.”
Jean-Pierre stated: “We have seen TikTok’s latest statement. It’s a trick.”
“We have made our position clear and straightforward: the implementation of this law will transition to the next administration. Therefore, TikTok and other companies should address any concerns with them.”
