After brief shutdown, TikTok restores service in the US as Trump offers ‘assurance’ over divest-or-ban law

TikTok is back online in America.

The social media platform announced Sunday (January 19) that it was in the process of restoring service in the US after President-elect Donald Trump provided the “necessary clarity and assurances” to its service providers.

The development arrived less than 24 hours after TikTok switched off its service in the US for over 170 million US users late Saturday night (January 18), ahead of the implementation of a law on Sunday that effectively banned the app in the market.

The shutdown came after the Supreme Court’s Friday (January 17) ruling upholding a law requiring TikTok’s US operations to be divested from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, citing national security concerns.

During the brief shutdown, users attempting to access TikTok in the US were met with a message saying:

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!

“In the meantime, you can still download your data.”

Google and Apple have also removed TikTok from their app stores to comply with the law.

The shutdown extended beyond TikTok to other ByteDance-owned applications, including the video editing platform CapCut and the photo-sharing app Lemon8, which also went offline in the US.

Shortly after TikTok went offline, President-elect Donald Trump intervened via a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling for it to remain available.

“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.

Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for today  (January 20).

“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.”

Donald Trump

In response, TikTok said in a statement that, “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.”

Service restoration began Sunday afternoon, with initial access returning through web browsers before gradually becoming available on mobile devices.

Users returning to the platform were greeted with a message saying, “Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things 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 unavailable for download from Apple’s and Google’s app stores.

Trump also proposed a 50% joint venture between TikTok and a US entity.

“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up.  Without US approval, there is no TikTok.  With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” Trump said.

“Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the US gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the US and whichever purchase we so choose.”

TikTok warned on Friday following the Supreme Court ruling that it would be “forced to go dark” in the US “unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement”.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Saturday that TikTok’s threat to shut down in the US is a “stunt”.

Said Jean-Pierre: “We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt”.

“We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.”Music Business Worldwide