TikTok began restoring the app’s service in the United States after Donald Trump announced he would sign an executive order suspending its ban.
A law signed by President Joe Biden last April required ByteDance, TikTok‘s China-based parent company to sell app to non-Chinese owner by Sunday or face a ban.
Some users reported losing access Saturday evening, and Americans opening the app on Sunday were greeted with a message saying they “can’t use ‘TikTok’ right now”.
But in an article on Truth Social before his inauguration, Mr. Trump said he would issue an executive order granting the app an extension to find a new owner.
TikTok users in the United States were unable to use the app on Sunday. Photo: Kirsty Hickey
“I ask companies not to let TikTok remain in the dark,” the president-elect wrote, adding that the order would allow time “so we can reach a deal to protect our national security.”
He then confirmed that “no company will have any liability for helping to keep TikTok from going dark before my order” and said: “Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, along with other events and conversations.”
TikTok later said it began restoring service on Sunday, thanking the president for making it clear to service providers “that they will not face any penalties for providing TikTok.”
He adds: “This is a strong stance in favor of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.
Before the ban took effect, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s plans to shut down the app a “set-up” and said the moves to make complying with the ban “would be up to the next administration.”
Mr. Trump also indicated on Truth Social what a possible deal might look like, saying he would prefer the United States “have a 50% stake in a joint venture” with ByteDance or a new owner.
“Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok,” he said. “With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars, if not billions. »
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On Saturday, the president-elect said NBC News» Meet The Press Moderator Kristen Welker That TikTok Would “Most Likely” Be Given a 90-day break after the ban to find a new owner.
Under the bipartisan TikTok law – signed by Mr Biden – the president can grant a one-time 90-day extension under three conditions:
• There is a possibility of transferring the application.
• There is “significant progress” toward completing a sale
• There are “relevant binding legal agreements to permit the execution of such a qualified assignment during the period of this extension”
No legal agreement on the sale of TikTok to a non-Chinese owner were made public, and Mr. Trump did not say Saturday whether he was aware of recent progress toward a sale.
CNBC later reported that Perplexity AI made a bid for the app’s parent company on Saturday to allow it to merge with TikTok US and create a new entity, which would also include New Capital Partners.
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During his first term in the White House, Mr. Trump tried to ban TikTok as well as the Chinese messaging app WeChat, but was blocked by the courts. It was later revoked by Mr. Biden.
Last year, he briefly met with the app’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, who will be present at the inauguration Monday.
He is expected to sit down with fellow tech executives Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, a Trump transition official told NBC.