TikTok announced on Sunday that it would restart its service in the United States after President Donald Trump promised to suspend the video app’s ban there.
President Trump has given Truth Social additional time to find a buyer before the Chinese-owned video app faces a complete shutdown after his inauguration on Monday, with the US or a US company acquiring 50% of the stake. He said he would sign an executive order proposing the stake.
“By doing this, we will save TikTok, keep it under proper control, and keep it up (sic),” Trump said. “Without US approval, there would be no TikTok. With our approval, it would be worth hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars.”
TikTok suspended its service for 170 million users in the United States late Saturday.
Congress passed a law in April that would force TikTok, now owned by ByteDance, to sell to a non-Chinese owner or be kicked out of the United States, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the provision. As a result, the app has chosen to close down. Prohibited on Fridays. Under the law, if TikTok fails to secure sales, companies would be prohibited from distributing, maintaining or updating the app, effectively banning it from being sold through app stores, for example.
A pop-up message to U.S. users of the app from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon read: “A law has been enacted in the United States that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” Trump had pushed for a ban during his previous presidential campaign, but the 2024 presidential campaign It attempted to intervene on TikTok’s behalf at the 11th hour after discovering that the app had a large audience.
The company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, released a video thanking President Trump for his efforts to keep the app available in the United States. He is expected to attend President Trump’s inauguration in person.
Following President Trump’s message on Sunday, the company said in a statement that it was “restoring service” and “provided necessary clarity and assurance to service providers that there will be no penalties for providing TikTok.” Thank you President Trump.” We impact more than 170 million Americans and enable more than 7 million small businesses to thrive. It is a strong position supporting the First Amendment and opposing arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States. ”
Some Tiktok users reported that the app was fully functional again shortly after the announcement.
Incoming National Security Adviser Mike Walz also told CNN on Sunday that President Trump has set up a “firewall to ensure that data is protected here on American soil” and that Chinese ownership may continue. He said that he has not ruled out.
He also said on Sunday’s CBS News that President Trump is working on “saving” TikTok and needs time to sort out issues related to the company and evaluate potential buyers.
Concerns surrounding TikTok center on the possibility that the Chinese state could access personal data generated by the app’s U.S. users and manipulate the app’s powerful algorithms to determine what users see. Chu denied any Chinese government involvement in the app, saying ByteDance was not “an agent of China or any other country” as of 2023.
Last week, it was reported that President Trump was considering extending the ban through executive order. The bill threatening to ban TikTok includes a provision that would allow the president to extend the sale deadline that passed Sunday for 90 days if a deal is possible, but the law requires “evidence of significant progress.” are listed. ” For transactions.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that he would support banning TikTok.
“When President Trump puts out a true post and says save TikTok, we read that as saying that President Trump is trying to force a true sale, change of ownership, and transfer,” Johnson said. he said.
He added that lawmakers are concerned about the Chinese Communist Party, not the app itself, and said TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has 270 days to sell the app in the United States.
Some Republican lawmakers have rejected the idea of extending the ban’s timeframe.
“Now that this law is in effect, there is no legal basis to ‘extend’ its effective date in any way,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Arkansas). Nebraska Republican Party) said in a statement. Joint statement on Sunday.
“For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must sever all ties between TikTok and Communist China and agree to a sale that meets the law’s qualified sale requirements. Only then can the U.S. People will be protected from the grave threat to their privacy and security posed by communist-controlled TikTok.”
Several Democratic lawmakers last week urged President Biden to give TikTok a grace period before it shuts down.
“It’s clear that we need more time to find a U.S. buyer for TikTok,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on January 16. “We will continue to work to keep TikTok alive, protect the livelihoods of content creators, protect it from Chinese Communist Party surveillance, and protect national security. I will work with the Trump administration to find a solution. .”
Shark Tank celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary said Friday that he has offered TikTok’s owners a $20 billion acquisition, while Perplexity AI also merged with TikTok US rather than acquiring the app outright. reportedly submitted a bid to do so. There are also reports that Chinese authorities are considering brokering the sale of TikTok to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump ally. TikTok dismissed Musk’s report as “pure fiction.”
