Gen Z influencers reeling from a 12-hour blackout on their social media platform due to the Biden administration's ban on TikTok are speaking out after their favorite app resumed service on Sunday. “Thank you, President Trump.”
I said, “I have to make this real, I’m messing up right now…this is so dystopian.” makeup artist james charles A post on Instagram on Saturday received more than 800,000 likes. Charles was saddened by the fact that he no longer had access to the app that had been such a powerful force in his life.
“Right now I'm rooting for Trump. Oh, make America great again, right?”
Supreme Court upholds impending TikTok ban
President-elect Trump is pictured in front of the TikTok logo. (Getty Images)
More than 170 million American users lost access to TikTok on Saturday night, with a message on the app saying it would be offline until further notice. This app is no longer available on Google or the App Store. The Biden administration signed a law forcing ByteDance, the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated parent company of TikTok, to divest from the company in April or face shutdown in the United States. The Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday.
“A law has been enacted in the United States that bans TikTok. Unfortunately, this means that you cannot use TikTok at this time,” the message reads in part. The next morning, users received a new notification that the app was back in service “as a result of President Trump's efforts.”
Influencers were quick to celebrate the reopening of their favorite social media apps, with users saying President-elect Trump would likely grant the app a 90-day extension to comply with the law. He praised President-elect Trump for supporting the resurgence of TikTok.
Trump says he needs time to review Scotus decision to uphold TikTok ban, hints at action in the 'not too distant future'
TikTok influencers expressed their displeasure following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold federal law regarding the sale of TikTok. (Screenshot/Alex Perlman/Emily Senn/Madilyn Cameron)
“My birthday wish came true!!! Let's make TikTok great again! It was the worst 10 hours of my life,” she wrote. TikTok user JFernandez81 On Sunday, the influencer also posted a video of her lip-syncing the lyrics “You're appreciated” from Tupac's song “Dear Mama.”
“Thank you! Thank you Mr. Trump! We love you! We love you Papi,” TikTok user soyelmajedelvideoofficial posted in a video. It received over 2,000 likes.
influencer christina dunn recognized the achievements of the next president “TikTok is back because of him,” he said as he brought the app back to the web, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the president-elect's face.
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TikTok CEO Hsu Chu also thanked President Trump for his efforts to keep the app online in the United States.
“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution to keep TikTok available in the United States,” Chu said in a video posted to his TikTok channel on Friday.
