TikTok has announced that, after going away for about half a day, it’s service is coming back on in the US. The Verge reported. The company posted on X that it is “in the process of restoring service” and thanked President Trump for “providing the necessary clarity to do so.”
TikTok wrote: “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.”
TikTok shut out US users last night ahead of the US federal ban’s deadline, displaying a message to users that said it was making its “services temporarily unavailable” due to the ban.
After the Biden administration declared that enforcement “will be up to the next administration to implement,” Trump posted today that he was planning to delay the TikTok ban. He said it would require that the app be sold, possibly with “a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50 percent ownership.”
NBC News reported: TikTok said its video platforms was coming back online after President-elect Donald Trump provided assurances necessary to the company’s service providers.
Just hours before the move from TikTok, Trump posted to Truth Social calling for the app to remain available.
Trump indicated in his post that he wanted it to be available on order to broadcast his inauguration Monday.
“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.
The Hill reported: TikTok said Sunday that it is “in the process” of restoring service to the U.S., just more than 12 hours after cutting off access to the popular video-sharing platform in anticipation of a ban.
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he was asking companies “not to let TikTok stay dark” and planned to issue an executive order when he takes office Monday to give the app an extension.
A law that required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban went into effect Sunday. In anticipation of the ban, TikTok shut down access in the U.S. on Saturday shortly before midnight.
In my opinion, it sounds like Trump is interested in getting “a 50 percent ownership” of TikTok in the United States.