Donald Trump to the Rescue as TikTok Back Online in US After Hours Of Shutdown

TikTok resumed service in the United States on Sunday after a brief shutdown due to a new law banning the app over US national security concerns. The law went into effect on Sunday. TikTok’s appeal to the Supreme Court against the law failed on Friday.

TikTok credited in-coming President Donald Trump for reversing the ban.

The app went dark late Saturday as the deadline for its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell its US subsidiary approached. Many users were frustrated as they were temporarily unable to use the app.

Just a day before his inauguration, Trump announced early Sunday that he would delay the ban to “make a deal” and suggested a “50% ownership position” for the US in a joint venture with TikTok.

In a statement on X, TikTok thanked Trump for “providing the necessary clarity” to service providers, allowing them to continue offering TikTok to over 170 million Americans.

By Sunday afternoon, TikTok was back online, but the company has not commented on Trump’s proposal for partial ownership.

The new law allows a 90-day delay in the ban if progress toward a viable deal is shown, but ByteDance has refused to sell. The Biden administration indicated it would leave the enforcement of the law to Trump.

TikTok remains popular for its ability to turn regular users into stars, but concerns over disinformation and its Chinese ownership linger.

The law also requires Apple and Google to block new downloads and can impose hefty penalties. Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, must also comply with the ban.

Meanwhile, a startup called Perplexity AI proposed a merger with TikTok’s US operations, which is valued at around $50 billion.

Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt also expressed interest in buying TikTok’s US operations, and Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary bid $20 billion in “cash” to buy the video app outright.

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