TikTok is back online in the United States

After being offline in the United States for 14 hours, TikTok now claims it is working to restore service. In a statement published on social media, the company said:

In accordance with our service providers, TikTok is currently restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing clarity and assurance necessary to our service providers, allowing them not to face sanctions by providing TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and enabling over 7 million small businesses to thrive.

This is a strong statement 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.

TikTok Ban: Latest News

TikTok went offline at 10:30 PM UTC Saturday in the United States following the implementation of federal restrictions. Apple then removed the app from the App Store, saying that it "must follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates.

As we explained previously, the responsibility for implementing the federal ban on TikTok falls to its partners such as Apple, Google, Oracle, and others. In its statement today, TikTok claims to have concluded an "agreement" with service providers to effectively ignore the law due to its lack of implementation.

TikTok also thanks President Trump for "providing the necessary clarity" to these partners so that they can "avoid any penalty" in restoring access to the service.

The Biden administration had previously indicated that it would not enforce the ban, passing this responsibility to the Trump administration. Despite comments from the Biden administration, TikTok chose to turn off its service on Saturday evening – an action that the Biden group called a "tour de force."

TikTok's announcement follows President-elect Trump's statement on social media stating that he will sign an executive order to "extend the delay before legislative bans take effect." It seems to be the "clarification necessary" mentioned in TikTok's statement today.

What follows is as uncertain as ever. In his press release on social media today, Trump floated the possibility of a "50% ownership share and risk sharing" for TikTok:

I urge businesses not to let TikTok sink. I will sign an executive order to extend the delay before legislative bans take effect. The original law gave ByteDance, the parent company linked to China, nine months to sell TikTok, but that calendar has expired today. There is no proof that TikTok has made "significant progress" towards a sale.

During his first term, Trump supported the idea of banning TikTok in the United States due to national security concerns.

Apple did not comment on TikTok's announcement today. At 12:45 PM local time on Sunday, the app is still not available in the App Store.

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