Just hours after TikTok shut down in the United States due to a federal ban, the popular video-sharing platform announced Sunday that it was restoring service to users, after President-elect Donald Trump via his Truth Social handle said he would attempt to pause the ban with an executive order on his first day in office.
Trump stated he planned to issue the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to secure an approved buyer before the ban fully took effect, sharing the announcement as millions of U.S. TikTok users woke up to find they could no longer access the app.
To comply with the law, Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores, which required ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation by Sunday. The law, passed with broad bipartisan support in April, allows for heavy fines. It remains unclear, however, if new users can still download the TikTok app from the stores at this time.
The company managing TikTok in the U.S. later posted on X, confirming that Trump’s statement had provided “the necessary clarity and assurance” to their service providers, ensuring they would face no penalties for continuing to offer TikTok to over 170 million Americans.
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. 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…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025
The TikTok account on X now features short clips, videos, and GIFs of joyous users celebrating the service’s return, many accompanied by the message “We are Back.” Some of these clips include praise for Donald Trump, acknowledging his role in pausing the federal ban.
1 thought on “TikTok Restores Service in U.S. Following Trump’s Post on Truth Social”
Well, let’s see how all this plays out 😂. American politics is … complicated 😂🙌