TikTok became available for users in the U.S again on Sunday after president-elect Donald Trump promised to sign an executive order that will delay a ban on the platform. TikTok’s app became unavailable for American users late Saturday in preparation for a law that took effect Jan. 19, the day before Trump will be inaugurated as president at noon E.T.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the social media platform wrote Sunday 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.”
TikTok praised Trump in a warning posted Saturday night that users saw when they tried to open the app. And the social media app said in a statement Sunday that restoration of its service was a positive development for free speech.
“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,” the ByteDance-owned company wrote.
President-elect Trump, a billionaire authoritarian who’s promised to target his political enemies, announced Sunday morning that he will be issuing an executive order that will ensure TikTok can operate in the U.S. while a deal is reached to figure out something long term.
“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,” Trump wrote Sunday morning on his social media platform Truth Social.
Bizarrely, Trump signaled that his primary concern about having TikTok available on Monday was that he wanted people to be able to see him become president again.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump continued.
But the strangest element of Trump’s announcement involved his apparent plans for how to structure a deal that would allow the app to continue operations in the U.S. The president-elect signaled the federal government might be taking some kind of ownership stake in the social media company, though details on how that might work weren’t provided.
“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 [sic]. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars—maybe trillions,” Trump wrote.
The billionaire was clearly hinting at how lucrative this deal might be as a sign that he should both be praised and perhaps should see some kind of benefit for himself.
“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.”
Trump’s relationship with everyone has long been known to be transactional, but it’s not entirely clear yet whether the incoming president will personally profit from the TikTok deal, as he has in so many other areas of life.
Republican senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas wasn’t necessarily happy with the way that things are going with TikTok, releasing a statement praising companies like Apple and Google for removing the app from their stores while saying there’s no legal way for any timeline to be extended.
“We commend Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for following the law and halting operations with ByteDance and TikTok, and we encourage other companies to do the same. The law, after all, risks ruinous bankruptcy for any company who violates it. Now that the law has taken effect, there’s no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date,” Cotton said in a statement published online.
But Cotton’s discontent may not amount to much now that Trump is taking office again, as laws are only real if they’re enforced. And the executive branch, which houses the U.S. Department of Justice, would be in charge of enforcing the TikTok “ban or divest” law.
“For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China,” Cotton continued. “Only then will Americans be protected from the grave threat posed to their privacy and security by a communist-controlled TikTok.”
