TikTok is back in the US ‘thanks’ to Trump

20 Jan 2025

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Trump, who is now credited by TikTok for bringing the app back in the US, once supported its ban over national security concerns.

After shutting down for about half a day, TikTok is back in the US – and the app is crediting incoming president Donald Trump for facilitating its quick return.

Following numerous failed attempts by the Chinese-owned social media platform to stay live in the country, TikTok started removing its services on 18 January, preventing users from watching videos on the app, just hours before its scheduled federal ban was set to take effect in the US.

“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” the message displayed on the app read, but added that it is working with Trump to reinstate TikTok once he takes office, and on X, the platform criticised the Biden administration for failing to provide necessary clarity and assurances needed to maintain the platform for US users.

However, a few short hours later, the platform announced that it was restoring services in the country “as a result of president Trump’s efforts”.

In its latest X statement, the app said: “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring 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 170m Americans and allowing over 7m small businesses to thrive.

“We will work with president Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” it added.

Trump, who has flip-flopped on his views on TikTok for years, released a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, 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,” he said, adding that he would “like the US to have a 50pc ownership position” of TikTok in a joint venture.

“Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”

The app is returning to the US without support from Apple and Google, as it still remains unavailable on their app stores. In addition, Apple has also banned a total of 11 ByteDance-owned apps in the country, including CapCut, the popular video editor; Lemon8, an Instagram-like social media platform; along with TikTok; and TikTok Studio and Shop.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law that would have seen TikTok banned in the country over the weekend. In a unanimous decision, the country’s top court determined that the national security concerns posed by ByteDance’s relationship with China – and the app’s access to US user data – outweighed concerns about speech limitations.

However, the app’s return seems to undermine the court’s decision. Moreover, the outgoing administration, who brought in the legislation that set the ban in motion, has left it up to Trump to implement it.

On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement that said that the implementation of the law “simply must fall to the next administration”.

While the law banning TikTok in the US was brought in by president Joe Biden in 2024, incoming president Donald Trump, just years earlier in his first administration, targeted TikTok and WeChat with bans citing national security concerns, backing Microsoft to purchase the platform’s US business – a deal which ultimately did not pan out.

Last week, US users flocked to another Chinese social media app, Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, in defiance of the US government ban on TikTok for national security reasons.

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Suhasini Srinivasaragavan is a sci-tech reporter for Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com