TikTok is back online
Less than 24 hours after dark, TikTok say it has arrived back online after the President is elected Donald Trump gave the company’s service providers—presumably Apple, Google, and Oracle—assurance that his administration would not enforce the ban application right from the start.
“As agreed with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company wrote in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing needed clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties for making TikTok available to more than 170 million people. America and allowing more than 7 million small businesses to grow. It is a strong stance in favor of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump to find a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
This is the newest salvo in dramatic battle about the future of TikTok in the US. Last year, Congress passed one law that requires ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban starting January 19. TikTok sued on First Amendment grounds but lost in court Supreme Court. Last night, Apple and Google pulled the app from their respective app stores, as well as many other apps developed by ByteDance. Oracle is said to have asked employees to shut down US servers hosting TikTok data, according to Information.
The move sets the stage for President-elect Trump, who tried to ban TikTok while he was in office, to save the app before he is sworn in as President. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so we can reach an agreement that protects our national security,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday morning. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark in the face of my order.”
Technically, the law only allows Trump to extend the enforcement deadline if ByteDance makes real progress on the agreement to divest operations in the US. Among those mentioned as possible acquisitions: Elon Musk and billionaire Frank McCourt. While McCourt does a formal bidMusk’s name is believed to have floated away in discussions with the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg. “I want the United States to have 50% ownership in a joint venture,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to speak. Without US approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars — possibly trillions of dollars.”
TikTok, along with other apps owned by ByteDance, have yet to return to US app stores as of publication. But some users reported being able to access their timelines again after they were listed as unavailable last night. Others have regained access to their accounts but with varying levels of functionality.
