Less than 24 hours after it went dark, TikTok says it’s back online after President-elect Donald Trump assured the company’s service providers — presumably Apple, Google and Oracle — that his administration would not enforce a law , which bans the app in the first place.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company wrote in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any sanctions by providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the US.”
It’s the latest salvo in the dramatic battle over TikTok’s future in the US. Last year, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its US operations or face a ban from January 19. TikTok sued on First Amendment grounds, but lost at the Supreme Court. Last night, Apple and Google pulled the app from their respective app stores, as well as many other apps developed by ByteDance. Oracle has reportedly asked employees to shut down servers that hosted TikTok’s US data, according to The Information.
The move set the stage for President-elect Trump, who had tried to ban TikTok when he was in office, to save the app before he is sworn in as president. “I will issue an executive order on Monday extending the period before the law’s ban goes into effect so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security,” he wrote on Truth Social Sunday morning. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped prevent TikTok from going dark prior to my order.”
Technically, the law only allows Trump to extend the enforcement deadline if ByteDance makes real progress on a deal to divest its US operations. Among those whose names have been mentioned as possible acquirers: Elon Musk and fellow billionaire Frank McCourt. While McCourt made an official bid, Musk’s name was reportedly floated in discussions with the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “By doing this, we’re saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and letting it quit. Without US approval, there’s no Tik Tok. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars — maybe trillions.”
TikTok, in addition to other ByteDance-owned apps, is still not back in US app stores at release. But several users have reported being able to access their timelines again after they were listed as unavailable last night. Others had regained access to their accounts, but with varying degrees of functionality.