TikTok, a popular short-form video sharing app, responded to a federal ban by going dark in the US, but will restore service users in the country after US President-elect Donald Trump said he would attempt to pause through an executive order on his first day in office.
Trump said earlier on Sunday that he planned to issue the order to give TikTok's China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent US ban.
In a post Sunday on his Truth Social account, Trump announced the decision as millions of TikTok users in the US woke up to be unable to access the TikTok app or platform.
Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to abide by a federal law which required it to do so if TikTok's parent company ByteDance doesn't sell its US operations by Sunday.
The law, which was passed with broad bipartisan support in April due to national security concerns posed by the app's Chinese roots, allowed for steep fines for noncompliance.
Trump said his order would "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect" and "confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.".
The company running TikTok said in a post on X that Trump's post had provided "the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.".
Users soon reported that the app was working again, and TikTok's website appeared to be functioning for at least some users. Meanwhile, even as TikTok was flickering back on, it remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google's app stores.
The law grants the sitting US president the authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is under way. Although investors made a few offers, ByteDance previously said it would not sell.
In his Sunday post, Trump said he "would like the United States to have a 50 percent ownership position in a joint venture", but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the government or a US company.
"By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up," Trump wrote. "Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions."
The president-elect does not rule out continued Chinese ownership, but "firewalls to make sure that the data is protected" in the US, incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz told CNN on Sunday.
"We can have an app that Americans can enjoy, but at the same time that protects their data, protects them from outside influence," he said.
The US Supreme Court reportedly upheld on Friday a law requiring the banning of the app unless its parent company, ByteDance divests TikTok's US operations.
In court, the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden defended the law as motivated by concerns TikTok collects extensive amounts of data related to US users. In theory, this data could become available to the Chinese government through coercion.
Others have also warned that the app's algorithm, which determines what content users see, can be manipulated by Chinese authorities to subtly influence the platform in ways difficult to detect.
The US however has yet to present public evidence showing TikTok shared user data with Chinese authorities or changed its algorithm to serve Chinese interests.
ByteDance has denied any wrongdoing and resisted calls to sell its US operations, leaving the platform in limbo.
The US law requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, blocking new downloads. The companies could face penalties of up to $5,000 per user who can access the app.
Oracle, which hosts TikTok's servers, would also be legally obligated to enforce the ban.
Meanwhile, US-based competitors such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts stand to benefit from TikTok’s forced absence.
Another Chinese platform, Xiaohongshu, meaning Little Red Book, has gained traction among American users, becoming the most downloaded app on Apple’s US store this week.
Several investors have proposed last-minute solutions to keep TikTok operational.
Perplexity AI, an artificial-intelligence startup funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had offered a proposal to merge with TikTok's US operations into a new entity that would enable ByteDance to retain partial control.
The other proposals include a $20 billion offer by a consortium led by Canadian investor Kevin O'Leary and Frank McCourt.
Experts say that if Trump were to issue an executive order to delay the ban, it would likely be challenged in the law.
"The way Congress wrote this law, it's pretty much president-proof," said Adam Kovacevich, the chief executive of the industry trade group Chamber of Progress.
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