TikTok is gradually coming back online in the United States (US) following a shutdown of over 12 hours. The company on Sunday said it is “in the process of restoring service”
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company said in a statement, further thanking President-elect Donald 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.”
Trump said he would issue an executive order to give the popular video-sharing platform a reprieve when he takes office effective Monday (Jan 20).
TikTok shut down its services on Saturday night two hours ahead of a federal ban that would either force TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app or see it banned in the United States with effect on Sunday (Jan 19th). The law also made it illegal for US companies to support the distribution, maintenance, or updating of the app —facing penalties.
US users were met with a message saying “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” before the message was later modified to add that the app could be back soon once Trump takes office.
“We are fortunate that Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,”
Several other apps owned by TikTok’s parent company, including CapCut and Lemon8, also went offline.
Now, while the short-form video platform is partially back in the US, the app is still unavailable on Google and Apple’s app stores. According to AP, experts said the law as written did not require TikTok to take down its platform, only for app stores to remove it. Current users expected to continue to have access to videos until a lack of updates caused the app to stop working.
Trump’s plan to spare TikTok on his first day in office reflected the ban’s coincidental timing and the unusual mix of political considerations.
