After the Supreme Court decided to support banning TikTok on Friday, the app went dark in the US on Saturday night to the 170 million Americans who use it with the message, “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.”
However, the application returned from noon on Sundayalthough still not available in app stores.
TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump for giving it “the all-clear” to return online with impunity.
TikTok's welcome message to users read: “Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
Why was TikTok banned?
Congress passed a law in April 2024 called the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which gave TikTok until Jan. 19 to split off from Beijing-based parent company ByteDance and sell it to a non-Chinese company or faces a ban from US app stores.
Lawmakers were concerned about user data in the US making her way the Chinese government and TikTok spreading Chinese propaganda to the American public.
Related: Here's how long ByteDance has to sell and why TikTok is gearing up for a legal battle
TikTok fought the law in court, arguing that it was unconstitutional and violated the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment. The social media company took its case to the Supreme Court on January 10, but failed: Court supported the ban on TikTok on friday.
Why is TikTok back?
The change came thanks to one Trump's Sunday post on social truth. Trump urged companies not to let TikTok stay in the dark and said he would issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time TikTok has before the law's restrictions apply.
The order would ensure that there would be “no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark” before his executive order.
Trump also stated that he wants the US to have 50% ownership of a joint venture to own TikTok.
“Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners, with the US taking 50% ownership in a joint venture between the US and whichever acquisition we choose,” Trump wrote.
In a statement provided to TechCrunch On Sunday after Trump's tweet, TikTok said it was “in the process of restoring service.”
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties while providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the statement said. .
Another potential buyer appears
TikTok has already received many offers (official and not) for the platform.
Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary joins forces with billionaire and former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in a $20 billion takeover bid the platform. Trump said on Sunday that he wants the US to own half of TikTok. There were also reports that Chinese officials talked about selling TikTok to Elon Musk, which TikTok called “pure fiction.”
Now, reports have emerged that AI search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted an offer of at least $50 billion to ByteDance on Saturday to create a new merged entity consisting of TikTok US, Perplexity and its partners. for CNBC.
The merger would add more videos to Perplexity and allow ByteDance's investors to keep their equity stake.
ByteDance has previously shown this won't sell TikTokso Perplexity believes it has a chance with a merger rather than a sale.