TikTok said on Sunday that it is “restoring service” after a ban in the US initially took effect earlier in the day.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is 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 for providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allow over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the company said in a statement. “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 US.”
In a pop-up message visible to users upon reopening the app on Sunday, TikTok again credited President-elect Donald Trump for the app’s return.
A message that will appear in the TikTok app when it returns online in the United States on January 19, 2025.
ABC News
“Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support,” the message read. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
TikTok briefly went dark between late Saturday night and early Sunday.
Last spring, Congress passed a measure with overwhelming bipartisan support that gave TikTok a 270-day period to cut its ties with China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S. Instead of initiating a sale, however, TikTok pursued a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds that ended in failure at the Supreme Court on Friday.
The unanimous decision by the country’s highest court found justification in national security concerns regarding the potential collection of user data or content manipulation that the Chinese government might undertake.
The platform became unavailable to some users on Saturday night, with a pop-up message in the app saying: “Sorry, TikTok is not available right now.”
“A law banning TikTok has been passed in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message read. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
As of Sunday morning, the app was not available in stores operated by Apple, Google and Samsung.
The Biden administration said earlier this week that it would not enforce the ban on Sunday, leaving implementation of the measure to President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday. Trump has promised to lift the ban.
In a Truth Social post Sunday morning, Trump said he’s “asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He said he would issue an executive order Monday, his first day in office, “to extend the period before the law’s ban goes into effect so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security.”
“The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped prevent TikTok from going dark before my order,” he added.
Trump said he wants “the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.” He said this could be a joint venture between the current owners and new owners.
Earlier Sunday, a Biden administration official accused TikTok of trying to “blame” the situation on the Biden administration, saying that “they’ve had a year to deal with it and we were clear that we weren’t going to implement it on our last day.”
White House officials had stressed for days that if TikTok went dark on Sunday, it would not be because of US enforcement — it would be TikTok’s decision, and that the administration was only referring the question to Trump because of the timing.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
