
Just 12 hours after going dark in the United States, TikTok on Sunday resumed operations for many users, crediting its revival to efforts by President-elect Donald Trump, according to CNN.
The app greeted returning users with a message, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
The sudden return follows a brief outage that began late Saturday night, during which the app displayed a notification stating it was offline and advising users to “stay tuned.”
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” read part of the message displayed to users. TikTok, along with its sibling apps Lemon8 and CapCut, also vanished from Apple’s App Store and Google Play due to their shared ownership by China-based ByteDance.
Early Sunday, Trump announced plans to issue an executive order on Monday, his inauguration day, to delay enforcement of the ban. Within hours, TikTok’s app and website began to return for US users.
“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 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok stated on Sunday. “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Trump proposed a joint venture where the US would hold a 50% ownership stake in TikTok, a move he described as both a solution and a safeguard for American users.
The law banning TikTok, enacted under President Joe Biden, required ByteDance to divest from the app within 270 days or face a ban. TikTok’s brief shutdown marked a culmination of bipartisan efforts to address national security concerns about its Chinese ownership.
This past Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the law, paving the way for TikTok's removal. The Biden administration announced it would defer enforcement of the ban to the incoming Trump administration.
Trump previously supported a TikTok ban during his first term as President, but later pledged during his campaign to “save TikTok”.
Last Wednesday, Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, said the President-elect plans to take action to preserve TikTok after taking office.
“TikTok itself is a fantastic platform,” Waltz stated. “I wish I could have it on my phone. The algorithm is amazing. We’re going to find a way to preserve it but protect people’s data. And that’s the deal that will be in front of us.”