Online video app TiKTok is resuming service to users in the United States having gone dark after a law became effective banning the Chinese owned operation on grounds of national security. It is returning after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order to extend the deadline to make a deal.
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, had decided not to sell its operations in the United States to avoid a ban under a law passed last year. The legislation was upheld by the Supreme Court and came into effect the day before Trump was to be inaugurated. The outgoing Biden administration had said that it would not enforce the law, leaving it to its successor to resolve.
TikTok said that unless the Biden administration provided a definite statement to satisfy service providers that are integral to maintaining its availability it would be forced to go dark.
We have become used to channels going dark in the United States as platforms negotiate over carriage deals, but this was something else. The online video social media platform has 170 million users in the United States. It was effectively shut down shortly before a federal law was due to come into effect barring companies from hosting or distributing TikTok in the United States.
TikTok became unavailable in the United States and the app was withdrawn from online stores late Saturday but was back by the following evening.
President Trump posted on his own social media site: “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.”
TikTok immediately began to restore its service in the United States. “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said in a statement. “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.”
The future for TikTok in the United States remains unclear. The company says it “will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
One possibility is that it could be acquired by Elon Musk, who owns X, formerly known as Twitter. Search company Perplexity AI is also understood to have submitted a bid for a merger with TikTok.