TikTok went live again on Sunday, hours after President-elect Donald Trump vowed to “not go dark.”
In a statement posted to X, the Chinese social media app confirmed that it was restoring service and praised Trump for helping restore the site.
The TikTok Policy states that “President Trump will provide the necessary clarity and assurance that no penalties will be imposed to bring TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and enable more than 7 million small businesses to thrive.” We thank the providers for providing this.”
“This is a strong position in support of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States.” mentioned in.
A pop-up message on the app after the “Welcome Home!” ban also told users: Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the United States!”
TikTok users took to other social media sites to share that they had regained access to their accounts.
That included some New Yorkers who were happy to hear the good news, but also expressed shock that the ban ended so quickly.
“That was fast!” said one user walking through Central Park.
Emma, a 19-year-old college student visiting from South Carolina, said:
“I kept clicking on the app because I missed it so much,” she said with a laugh. “I hope it doesn’t disappear again.”
The news came hours after President Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday to “keep TikTok out of the dark.” In announcing his plans to save the app, President Trump, 78, said the United States would take 50% ownership of the joint venture and buy the platform.
It’s unclear whether Trump meant that he wanted the U.S. government to own parts of the app.
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance previously had nine months, until January 19, to sell the platform’s U.S. operations or be banned from the country.
The ban passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress in April and was subsequently signed into law by President Biden.
But President Trump, who originally supported the ban in 2020, said on Sunday that he wanted a 90-day extension to find out that the app’s owner is non-Chinese, and that the company could continue online without fear of retaliation. urged him to return.
TikTok, which claims to have a user base of more than 170 million people in the US alone, has long raised national security concerns, including giving China access to large amounts of US data.
Despite President Trump’s change of heart about the app, some Republicans and tech industry heavyweights have pushed to bring it back online in its current state, citing continued national security risks to the United States. remained firmly opposed.
“Until TikTok is no longer controlled by the Chinese government, the national security threats that motivated the divestment law remain unaddressed,” Evan Schwarztrauber, a senior fellow at the American Foundation for Innovation, told The Sunday Post. Ta.
Other technology experts accused the app of creating a “manufactured sense of panic” by shutting down its U.S. operations before the day was over and restarting them soon after.
“TikTok’s early shutdown is either a result of corporate incompetence or a deliberate PR stunt to foster a sense of panic,” said Joel Thayer, a Washington, D.C.-based technology lawyer and director of the Digital Progress Institute. speaks. “Given the inexplicability, I think it’s the latter.
“The truth is, even before Congress enacted this law, the United States had spent more than five years telling TikTok how to resolve blatant national security concerns, and the company did nothing. “Sayre said. “After trying to bring forth false First Amendment claims to delay the law’s implementation, and on the eve of its ban, the party wants to throw a pity party. Sorry, but frankly… The company is an unsympathetic and dishonest broker.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton also expressed concern after the app was reportedly reintroduced to millions of Americans.
“Companies that host, distribute, service, or otherwise promote the communist-controlled TikTok are facing hundreds of billions of dollars in ruinous damages under the Justice Department as well as securities laws, shareholder lawsuits, state legislatures, and other laws.” You could be held responsible. Think about it,” Cotton wrote to X.
TikTok is back up and running for millions of Americans, but new customers remain unable to download the app on the App Store.
Earlier news that the app would be shut down permanently left some US users feeling dizzy trying to access the app via a VPN (virtual private network), and websites and apps that had users based in another country. I was able to make it seem like it was there.
VPNs were unable to help Americans access their accounts from late Saturday until Sunday, as the short-term ban was still in effect.
