TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing platform, which had a dramatic battle over its US existence in the past few months, has now restored service to its US users following a temporary blackout.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for 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,” the ByteDance-owned TikTok announced in a post on X.
For those who missed it, on Saturday evening, TikTok services had shut down in the US after the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act came into effect. If you were among the users who were trying to access TikTok, then you will have seen messages saying that the app was “temporarily unavailable.” Things changed by Sunday afternoon, and TikTok began to restore services, announcing its return with a message crediting President-elect Trump for his efforts. According to the company, this restoration was made possible through agreements with service providers like Oracle and Akamai. Despite these developments, TikTok remains absent from major app stores such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.
Central to the current controversy is ByteDance’s unwillingness to divest TikTok’s operations in the US, which is a requirement under the current national security law. While ByteDance has previously entertained potential deals with companies like Oracle and Walmart, no progress has been reported on this front. The law demands a “qualified divestiture” that satisfies U.S. national security concerns, yet ByteDance has resisted these efforts so far even after the US Supreme Court unanimously upheld the bipartisan law that mandated the same.
It is no surprise that President-elect Trump has become an ally of TikTok in its ongoing saga – he had pledged to executive order on his first day in office to delay the ban’s enforcement. Furthermore, Trump proposed extending the timeline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations, suggesting a joint venture in which the US would hold a ownership stake of 50%. TikTok accepted the lifeline, claiming that it would work toward a “long-term solution” to remain operational in the US.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”
