TikTok Shut Down And Then Restored In The U.S.

The Chinese video app TikTok shut down in the United States on Saturday night, a few minutes before the ban became effective, but was progressively restored on Sunday afternoon after elected president Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order to allow the use of the app when he returns to office this Monday.

The Chinese video app TikTok was shut down in the United States on Saturday night, a few minutes before the ban became effective, but was progressively restored on Sunday afternoon after President-elect Donald Trump announced he would issue an executive order to allow the use of the app when he takes office this Monday.

According to CNN, American users—around 170 million—saw Tiktok’s blackout. Many shared the message they got when they tried to use the app: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

On Sunday, Trump said at a rally that he would negotiate and take action to restore the platform’s service. “Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it,” said Trump, as reported by Reuters.

Just a few hours later, TikTok shared an official statement thanking Trump and announced they were in the process of restoring the 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,” wrote the company.

By Sunday night, TikTok was still unavailable in application stores, but many users were able to post and access the platform’s features again.

Trump explained that he would postpone the ban so that he could work on a deal with TikTok and suggested a 50% joint venture with the U.S. government. Many considered Trump’s move a political stunt as he first suggested banning the app in 2020 and raised concerns about the Chinese government’s involvement.