Tiktok starts restoring services for US members after shutting down
TikTok has resumed service for users in the United States after a brief voluntary shutdown that lasted under a day. The company announced on Sunday that it was in the process of restoring access following President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to attempt to halt the ban through an executive order on his first day in office.
"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," TikTok said in a statement. "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."
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
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…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy)January 19, 2025
ByteDance, the owner of the TikTok app, voluntarily ceased operations in the U.S. just hours before the Sunday deadline, cutting off access for tens of millions of users after the Supreme Court upheld a law that effectively prohibited the app due to concerns regarding its connections to China.
The legislation, passed by Congress last year, gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, until 19 January to divest from TikTok or face removal from U.S. app stores and hosting services. TikTok stated that a sale was unfeasible and challenged the law in court, but the Supreme Court unanimously rejected this challenge on Friday.
On Sunday, former President Trump announced on social media his intention to restore TikTok, first urging "SAVE TIKTOK" and then pledging to issue an executive order on Monday that would delay the law's implementation. He also mentioned that there would be no repercussions for companies assisting in maintaining TikTok's operation prior to the order being enacted.
"Americans deserve to witness our exciting Inauguration on Monday, alongside other events and discussions," he stated. ""I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - maybe trillions."
The court's ruling affirmed that the divest-or-ban statute does not infringe upon the free speech rights of TikTok or its 170 million American users, supporting the government’s stance that the platform could potentially be utilised by China to gather a significant amount of sensitive information about U.S. citizens.
