Just a day after TikTok went down in the Unoted States, the app is back online. The company says it’s working with service providers to get everyone back up and running and thanks President Donald Trump for giving them clarity and assurance that providers won’t be penalized for supporting
TikTok. This helps protect the 170m+ Americans who use the app and the millions of small businesses that rely on it.
The ban on TikTok was set to go into effect on Sunday as a law requires ByteDance to either sell the app or shut it down in the US.
The law also prohibits American companies from updating or maintaining the app. With the transition from President Trump to President-elect Joe Biden imminent, there was uncertainty around the law’s enforcement.
The Biden administration and the Department of Justice said they would leave the law’s implementation to the outgoing Trump administration. So TikTok told its critical service providers a statement was needed to avoid further disruption. And so the app went dark on Saturday evening and was removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
On Sunday morning President Trump issued an executive order delaying the ban. He said he wanted TikTok back up before Monday’s inauguration and that Americans should be able to see content around the event and that companies supporting TikTok wouldn’t be held liable for their involvement.
That seemed to address the immediate issue. By Sunday afternoon TikTok was working for many users but still not in app stores. But not everyone was happy.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton said any company that supported TikTok (which he called “communist-controlled”) would face severe financial consequences.
Trump also floated a long term solution for TikTok – a joint venture between the current and new owners with the US government taking 50% stake. TikTok said it’s willing to work with the Trump administration to develop a plan that ensures the app’s future in the US.
For now the immediate threat to TikTok has been averted but the app’s long term future is still unclear.