Less than 24 hours into the blackout, TikTok says it’s back online after President-elect Donald Trump gave the company’s service providers — presumably Apple, Google, and Oracle — assurances that his administration would not implement a ban on the app in the first place. .
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company wrote in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face sanctions that provide TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and allow more than 7 million small businesses to thrive. It is a strong defense of the First Amendment and resists illegal censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution. which keeps TikTok in the United States.”
It’s the latest salvo in the epic battle over TikTok’s future in the US. Last year, Congress passed a law that required ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to abandon its operations in the US or face a ban starting January 19. TikTok sued on First Amendment grounds but lost in the Supreme Court. Last night, Apple and Google released the app from their app stores, along with many other apps developed by ByteDance. Oracle has reportedly told employees to shut down the servers that hold TikTok US data, according to The Information.
The move set the stage for President-elect Trump, who tried to block 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 time before the ban, so we can make an agreement to protect our national security,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday morning. “This order will also ensure that there will be no liability for any company that helps TikTok not go black before my order.”
Technically, the law only allows Trump to extend the confirmation deadline if ByteDance makes real progress on a deal to divest its US operations. Among those whose names have been mentioned as potential beneficiaries: Elon Musk and fellow billionaire Frank McCourt. While McCourt made the official request, Musk’s name was reportedly being floated in discussions with the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in the joint venture,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “By doing this, we are saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and letting it speak. Without US permission, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars — maybe billions.”
TikTok, in addition to other apps owned by ByteDance, has not returned to US app stores since publication. But several users reported that they were able to access their timelines again after they were listed as unavailable last night. Others have regained access to their accounts, but with varying degrees of effectiveness.
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