I may have chuckled at those feeling lost and empty when TikTok went down, as I’m not a heavy user of the app, but I must admit that if a service I value was suddenly unavailable, I would feel pretty upset too. Fortunately, fans can now breathe a sigh of relief and resume using their smartphones:
TikTok announced it was in the process of restoring operations in the U.S. on Sunday after President-elect Trump assured that he would issue an executive order allowing TikTok to continue its operations on Inauguration Day.
Some U.S. users reported being able to regain access to the app following Saturday’s blackout.
The controversy surrounding TikTok stems from national security concerns attributed to its ownership by a Chinese company, ByteDance. A federal ban was set to take effect on January 19.
Trump had called on TikTok to stay up and running in a Sunday social media post:
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…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 19, 2025
The post continued:
The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.
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 Tik Tok. 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.
