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UPDATED Sunday, with TikTok restoring service: TikTok is restoring service to users of the app on Sunday after it said incoming president Donald Trump provided “necessary clarity” that it would not face penalties. A law upheld by the Supreme court Friday called for a ban or sale of TikTok by today.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said just now in a post on X. “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. It’s a strong stand for 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.”
UPDATED Sunday, with Donald Trump statement: Donald Trump confirmed this morning that he will give TikTok a 90-day reprieve for the app to comply with a law requiring a ban or sale.
TikTok shut itself down in the U.S. late Saturday preemptively ahead of today’s deadline. As of Sunday afternoon, the app appears to be working for some users who already have an account.
The incoming president said he will issue an executive on Monday once he takes office suspending the ban with the ultimate goal being a 50-50 joint venture with a U.S. entity. He urged U.S. companies not to let TikTok stay dark.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.
“Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”
The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by President Biden in April and, after a legal battle, upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, calls for a TikTok parent ByteDance to divest the company into the control of a U.S. owner or be banned in the U.S.
Despite Trump’s assurances, early Sunday it was still not possible to upload TikTok, although that may change. The Biden White House punted implementation of the law to the Trump administration, given the tight timing, but did not offer any legal assurances to app stores and internet service providers.
“TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in,” the Apple app store read for new downloads. As per the Google app store – “Downloads for this app are paused due to current U.S. legal requirements.”
Users with an account already had been seeing a TikTok advisory reading, “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,” read a message on the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” It seems that now the app has been at least partly unlocked.
This is and will continue to be messy. There will be no shortage of eager buyers but a 50% U.S. interest does not appear to signify control, as per the law. It remains to be seen what the Trump administration has in mind for the app, which has more than 170 million U.S. users.
The algorithm that makes TikTok great is intertwined with the app globally and the Chinese government has oversight of a sale. The widespread believe is that ByDance would not include the algorithm in a sale.
“We believe in the scenario that [if] ByteDance sold the US operations of TikTok this would be without the algorithm (ByteDance will never sell this key DNA) at a price tag likely in the $40 billion to $50 billion range,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note Sunday. “We now expect a slew of TikTok bids to come over the coming weeks from a host of larger tech players/PE/other strategic names for this key social media platform.”
UPDATED Saturday, with TikTok shutting down: TikTok has officially shut down in the U.S. ahead of a Sunday deadline but said it hopes to be reinstated after Donald Trump takes office on Monday.
The incoming president said earlier today that he will most likely give the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, a 90-day extension under a law that calls for a ban or sale to a U.S. entity. President Biden had said that given the tight timing he was leaving implementation to the Trump administration.
“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,” read a message on the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
It said that “in the meantime you can still log in to download your data,” providing a link, otherwise the site is inactive even for users who already have an account. The app is no longer available for new users to download on the Apple or Google app stores.
The move was not a surprise as TikTok, which has 170+ million U.S. users, had threatened to go dark Sunday without more clarity from the Biden administration on its legal standing. It had fought the law, called the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, on First Amendment grounds but lost definitively when the Supreme Court upheld it in an opinion issued Friday.
The law allows for an extension of the ban at the discretion of the president if ByteDance is engaged in ongoing good-faith negotiations to sell TikTok. It’s not clear if that has happened, or will happen.
UPDATED Saturday, with Donald Trump comments: The incoming president said he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension called for in a law upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday to see it sold or banned by a deadline tomorrow.
In a phone interview with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News, he said could give TikTok the reprieve after he takes office Monday.
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” Trump said.
He said he had not made a final decision. Although he also sought a sale or ban in his first term, Trump has said recently he’d like to avoid a ban of the popular app with 170+ million U.S. users.
A bipartisan bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden last year cited national security concerns and set a Jan. 19 deadline for a sale or ban of TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The law — the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — includes a 90-day extension if the sitting president determines that there is a good-faith sale effort underway.
The issue is what happens tomorrow. Biden is still in office but has punted a decision to the administration of Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday. The law is clear and theoretically Apple and Google would need to remove TikTok from their app stores on Sunday. TikTok said yesterday that it would not wait for that but go dark itself tomorrow unless it received more clarity from the current White House.
UPDATED Saturday, with White House comment: It turns out TikTok is just as confused as the rest of us after a Supreme Court ruling this morning. SCOTUS upheld a law that would see the popular app with 170+ million U.S. users banned on Sunday.
That happens to be the last day of the Biden administration, with Donald Trump set to be sworn in on Monday. In a statement earlier today, the White House said that because of the tight timing, the Biden administration would leave implementation of the law up to the Trump administration.
TikTok has now made itself clear. It needs more clarity from the Biden administration and the DOJ on its status as of this Sunday or it will be forced to go dark. Donald Trump does not want TikTok banned and has said he will figure something out, but no specifics or timing. And he cannot formally do anything until Monday. This could not have worked out more strangely.
“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a statement.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”
The White House released a statement today from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling the TikTok threat. “It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday. We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly; actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.”
The bipartisan Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, based in national security concerns, was signed into law by President Biden last year and gave TikTok until Sunday to sell itself to a U.S. entity or be banned. There’s one offer and lots of speculation but no sale is imminent. A ban would mean being dropped by the app stores of Apple and Google. In that case, current users would still have access to the app but no upgrades and gradual deterioration. The scenario TikTok just set up on Friday, however, is that it would take the initiative and go dark.
It’s a bit of brinksmanship. Despite passing the law, the Biden Administration may not want its last act to be disappearing a wildly popular app. Members of Congress in recent days and weeks, inundated by constituents, have also spoken up for a delay in the ban. TikTok is holding their feet to the fire.
There is a lot riding on this — for TikTok’s creators, its big advertising dollars, its cultural currency and U.S. relations with China and, according to the law, national security. Trump said he had spoken today with the Chinese president including about TikTok, which is owned by Chinese social media giant ByteDance. TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew met with Trump in Mar-a-Lago and will be at the inauguration.
In a video post earlier today he said, “On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”
“We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform, one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process,” he said.
