TikTok Starts Working Again in the U.S. After Shutdown Over Ban Law
TikTok is back online in the United States after shutting down for less than a day. The company said on Sunday that it was restoring access because President-elect Donald Trump promised to delay the ban with an executive order on his first day in office.
TikTok said in a statement:
“We thank President Trump for clearing up the rules for our service providers.
Tiktok thanks trump for restoring the social media platform
Source: Tiktok Policy X Handle
Now, they can keep TikTok online for over 170 million Americans and help more than 7 million small businesses. This is a big step for free speech and against unfair censorship. We will work with President Trump to find a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the U.S.”
TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, had voluntarily stopped the app in the U.S. just hours before a Sunday deadline. The shutdown came after the Supreme Court upheld a law that bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells the app.
The law, passed by Congress last year, required ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or be removed from U.S. app stores and hosting services. ByteDance said selling TikTok wasn’t possible and took the law to court, but the Supreme Court rejected their appeal on Friday.
On Sunday, Trump posted on social media:
“SAVE TIKTOK”
Trump said he would sign an executive order on Monday to delay the law’s effects and promised companies supporting TikTok wouldn’t face legal trouble before the order goes into effect.
Trump also wrote:
“Americans need TikTok to see our big Inauguration on Monday and to stay connected. I want the U.S. to own 50% of TikTok through a joint venture. This will save TikTok, keep it under safe control, and allow it to grow. Without U.S. approval, TikTok doesn’t exist. With our approval, TikTok could be worth hundreds of billions—or even trillions—of dollars.”
The Supreme Court said the divest or ban law which bans TikTok doesn’t violate free speech. The government argued that TikTok could let China collect sensitive data on Americans, which posed a major security risk.
The Biden administration said it would leave enforcing the law to the next Trump administration. However, TikTok decided to shut itself down just before the Sunday midnight deadline. Late Saturday night, U.S. users who tried to open the app saw a message that read:
"Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."
