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Less than 24 hours after going dark, TikTok says it has come back online after President-elect Donald Trump gave the company’s service providers—presumably Apple, Google, and Oracle—reassurance that his administration wouldn’t enforce a law banning the app in the first place.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company wrote in a statement. “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. 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.”
It’s the latest salvo in the dramatic fight over TikTok’s future in the US. Last year, Congress passed a law that required ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its US operations or face a ban starting January 19. TikTok sued on First Amendment grounds but lost at the Supreme Court. Last night, Apple and Google took the app out of their respective app stores, as well as many other apps developed by ByteDance. Oracle reportedly told employees to shut down servers that hosted TikTok US data, according to The Information.
The move set the stage for President-elect Trump, who’d tried to ban TikTok when he was in office, to save the app before he is sworn in as President. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday morning. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
TikTok, in addition to other ByteDance-owned apps, is still not back in US app stores as of publication. But several users have reported being able to access their timelines again after they were listed as unavailable last night. Others had regained access to their accounts, but with varying degrees of functionality.
After the Supreme Court decision, the Biden administration appeared to walk back its commitment to the ban, saying that it was leaving enforcement up to the Trump administration. That reassurance was not enough for TikTok, which voluntarily took itself offline ahead of the deadline.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appealed directly to Trump in a TikTok where he thanked the incoming president for his commitment to working with the company “to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.” On Blind, an anonymous messaging app that requires users to verify their employment before viewing company-specific posts, users mocked the video. “CEO begging Trump to save TT,” one wrote. “This is so cringe,” another responded.
While many in Washington appeared to quietly stop supporting the ban, which had declined in popularity among US adults in recent months, others applauded the decision and voiced outrage when TikTok announced it was coming back online. “Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about it,” wrote Sen. Tom Cotton on X.