Washigton. D.C.,Jan 21: TikTok restored its service in the United States on Sunday, January 19, 2025, after briefly going dark due to a law banning the app on national security grounds. The popular video-sharing platform had been offline since late Saturday, as the deadline for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. subsidiary loomed.
The app credited President-elect Donald Trump for helping to reverse the shutdown. Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, plans to sign an executive order giving ByteDance more time to find a compliant U.S. buyer before the app faces a permanent ban.
“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,” TikTok said in a statement posted on X.
Trump has also proposed that the United States take a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture with TikTok, which he believes could significantly increase the app’s value. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture… it could surge to ‘hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,'” he wrote in a post.
The law banning TikTok came into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld concerns that the app’s ties to China posed a national security risk. The law requires ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, but the Biden administration had signaled that it would not enforce the ban before Trump’s inauguration.
During his first term in office, Trump sought to ban TikTok and WeChat, citing national security threats related to Chinese ownership. While courts blocked his executive orders, Trump later opposed legislative efforts to ban TikTok, citing its role in helping him secure support from younger voters in the 2024 election.
The shutdown on January 19 caught users off guard. A pop-up message on the app informed them that TikTok was unavailable due to the law, and major app stores removed TikTok’s listing. Although users could still access the app on devices where it was already installed, in-app purchases and updates were no longer possible.
Apple, which removed TikTok and related ByteDance apps from U.S. app stores, stated that it was complying with the law. “Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” the company said. The removed apps included popular tools like CapCut, Hypic, and Lemon8. Apple noted that existing users could still use the apps, but new updates and subscriptions would no longer be available.
TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, expressed gratitude for Trump’s intervention in a video message. “Thank you for your commitment to work with the company to keep the app available in the U.S. and taking a strong stand for the First Amendment,” Chew said.
ByteDance, which has resisted pressure to sell TikTok, is reportedly exploring alternative solutions, including a proposal to merge TikTok’s U.S. business with artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI. Despite the ongoing uncertainty, TikTok’s operations in the U.S. appear to have been spared for the time being as negotiations continue.
As the debate over TikTok’s future in the U.S. unfolds, Trump’s involvement underscores the complex mix of national security, corporate interests, and political considerations surrounding the app. The next steps for TikTok and ByteDance remain closely tied to Trump’s upcoming decisions as president.
