TikTok has restored service for U.S. users based on Trump’s promised executive order.
TikTok initially went dark in response to a federal ban, which President Trump plans to pause by executive order on his first day in office.
The big picture: Trump issued the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the ban was set to take full effect.
- Millions of US TikTok users found they could no longer access the app or platform last Saturday, but service was restored just hours later.
- TikTok shut down the app because of a federal law that required the parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operation by a specified deadline, causing Google and Apple to remove the app from their digital stores.
- Despite restoration, the app remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google’s app stores.
Driving the news: The law that led to TikTok’s shutdown stems from national security concerns and required ByteDance to sever ties with its US operations, with the possibility of a 90-day extension if a viable sale was underway.
- Investors made offers, but ByteDance refused to sell, prompting Trump’s order to extend the period before the law’s prohibitions took effect and provide clarity and assurance to service providers.
- Some lawmakers and legal experts questioned the legality of Trump’s action, with uncertainties about the extension and potential consequences for companies supporting TikTok.
- The on-and-off availability of TikTok followed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the national security risk posed by TikTok’s ties to China outweighed concerns about limiting speech, leading to its removal from app stores.
State of play: Users received a message stating that TikTok was unavailable due to the enacted ban, leading to its removal from prominent app stores.
- “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” TikTok wrote in a message to users.