TikTok service has been restored in the United States after a brief shutdown following the enforcement of a law banning the app on national security grounds. The video-sharing platform credited President-elect Donald Trump for enabling the reversal, even though the outgoing administration under President Joe Biden had stated it would not actively enforce the ban.
The shutdown occurred late Saturday, as a deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers was fast approaching. With millions of American users finding themselves temporarily locked out, Trump made an announcement, pledging to issue an executive order that would delay the ban by 90 days, providing time to “make a deal” about the app’s ownership.
In his statement, Trump proposed that the U.S. government take a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture with TikTok, arguing that such an arrangement could increase the app’s value significantly, potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars. He added that by doing so, the U.S. could ensure that TikTok remained under “good hands” and prevent its business from falling to China.
TikTok expressed its gratitude to President Trump in a statement posted on social media, thanking him for providing clarity and assurance to its service providers that they would not face penalties for continuing to offer TikTok to over 170 million Americans. However, TikTok did not address Trump’s suggestion of U.S. partial ownership.
Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities noted that the incident was a “big win” for TikTok and a political victory for Trump, drawing parallels to high-stakes negotiations between the U.S. and China.
At a rally on Sunday evening, Trump reiterated his commitment to saving TikTok, highlighting the importance of keeping the app’s business in American hands. He emphasized that the situation involved “a lot of jobs” and voiced concern about ceding business interests to China.
Under the new law, there is a 90-day window for the White House to demonstrate progress toward a viable deal that would prevent the ban from taking effect. However, ByteDance has refused to sell, and the Biden administration stated it would leave enforcement of the law to Trump’s incoming administration.
While TikTok has become a beloved platform for millions, it has faced scrutiny over its potential to spread disinformation and concerns over its Chinese ownership, leading to national security fears in the U.S. and beyond. The recent blackout, which followed a Supreme Court ruling upholding the ban, sparked reactions globally, including from European officials and at the Australian Open, where American tennis star Coco Gauff wrote “RIP TikTok USA” on a camera following her match.
In the U.S., the ban prompted an act of protest in Wisconsin, where a man was accused of setting a fire at an office building in response to discussions about the TikTok ban.
Meanwhile, a last-minute merger proposal from Perplexity AI, a high-valued start-up, was reportedly made to acquire TikTok’s U.S. subsidiary, though the price was not disclosed. The source estimated the deal could cost around $50 billion.