TikTok announced on Sunday that it was “restoring” its service in the United States, just over 12 hours after cutting off access to the popular video-sharing platform in anticipation of a ban.
“In agreement with our service provider, TikTok is working to restore service,” TikTok said in a statement posted on social platform X.
“To bring TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allow over 7 million small businesses to thrive, please provide us with the clarity and assurance we need that service providers will not be penalized. Thank you, President Trump, for your continued support.”
“This is a strong stand against the First Amendment and arbitrary censorship,” TikTok added. “We look forward to working with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States.”
TikTok was functional again as of 1 p.m. ET, but had not yet reappeared in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, President Trump urged companies to “not leave TikTok in the dark” and said he would issue an executive order to extend the app when he takes office on Monday. said.
A law that requires TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance to withdraw from the app went into effect on Sunday. Anticipating the ban, TikTok cut off access in the United States just before midnight Saturday.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected TikTok's challenge to the law, ruling that TikTok did not violate the First Amendment. However, the Biden administration has said it will not implement the law, leaving implementation to the incoming Trump administration.
TikTok claimed late Friday that the White House failed to provide “the clarity and assurances that service providers need” and said it plans to “go into darkness” unless President Biden intervenes. The White House dismissed the move as a “stunt.”
President Trump appears to have given TikTok the necessary assurances, but the full scope of the app is unclear. ByteDance remains under pressure to exit from the president-elect himself.
President Trump said on Sunday that he wants the United States to have “50% ownership in the joint venture” so that the platform remains available to American users.
“Without US approval, there would be no TikTok. With our approval, it would be worth hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars,” he wrote. “My first thought, therefore, is to do a joint venture between the current owners and/or the new owners, so that the United States is established between the United States and our chosen purchaser. The company will acquire 50% ownership of the joint venture.
As Trump prepares to take office on Monday, some of the world's biggest tech leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, He will be close to Trump.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chiu, who visited the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago last month, is also expected to attend the inauguration. Following Friday's Supreme Court ruling, Chu expressed gratitude to President Trump for his efforts in finding solutions to remain available.
Updated at 1:32pm EDT
