INDIANA – In a dramatic turn of events Sunday, TikTok restored service to its U.S. users after a brief shutdown, following President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he would pause the federal ban on his first day in office.
The popular video-sharing platform had gone dark nationwide, with millions of American users waking up to find themselves unable to access the app. The shutdown came in response to a bipartisan law passed in April requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban due to national security concerns.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” users saw in a pop-up message Saturday night. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
The disruption came after a unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Friday determined that national security risks from TikTok’s Chinese ties outweighed free speech concerns. Both Google and Apple had removed TikTok from their app stores to comply with the law, which threatened steep fines for non-compliance.
Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he would issue an executive order to “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and protect companies that helped maintain TikTok’s service. He also expressed interest in the United States securing a “50% ownership position in a joint venture,” though it remained unclear whether he meant government or private sector ownership.
TikTok responded positively to Trump’s announcement, stating on X that his post provided “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”
While service has been partially restored, TikTok remains unavailable for download in major app stores, and ByteDance has previously stated it would not sell its U.S. operations. The law provides a potential 90-day extension if a viable sale is in progress, setting the stage for continued uncertainty about the platform’s future in America.
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