TikTok users across America are set to have access to the app again as the company confirmed it is “in the process” of restoring service to users.
It comes after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal law that commanded the app be pulled from Google and Apple stores if owner ByteDance was unable to sell to a US buyer. The company that runs TikTok said in a post on X on Sunday that tech companies that faced fines if they did not remove TikTok’s app from the digital stores and other service providers had agreed to help.
TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who on Sunday said he planned to sign an executive order after his inauguration on Monday 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. It was not immediately clear whether TikTok was working as it did before the company instituted a blackout late on Saturday.
Some users reported that the app was working, and TikTok’s website appeared to be functioning for at least some users. However, the app remained unavailable for download on Apple’s app store.
Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with a federal law that required them to do so if TikTok parent company ByteDance did not sell its US operation by Sunday. The law, which passed with wide bipartisan support in April, allowed for steep fines for non-compliance.
TikTok said Mr Trump’s promise of an executive order had provided “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”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on the eve of his inauguration, Trump said: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! 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.
“The order will also confirm that there will be no libaility for any company that helped keep TikTok from doing dark before my order. Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
“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 [stay] up. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.
“Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the US gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the US and whichever purchase we so choose.”
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