TikTok restores service in US, thanking Trump

TikTok restored service in the United States on Jan 19 after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.

TikTok credited US President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes power on Jan 20, for making the reversal possible – though the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.

The video-sharing app had shut down in the United States late on Jan 18 as a deadline for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers loomed.

Earlier on Jan 19, as millions of dismayed users found themselves barred from the app, Trump promised to issue an executive order delaying the ban to allow time to “make a deal.”

He also called in a post on his Truth Social platform for the United States to take part-ownership in TikTok.

The president-elect said he “would like the United States to have a 50 percent ownership position in a joint venture,” arguing that the app’s value could surge to “hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”

“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands,” wrote Trump, who had previously backed a TikTok ban and during his first term in office made moves towards one.

In a statement posted on X following Trump’s comments, TikTok said it “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 face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”

TikTok, which was back online in the United States by Jan 19 afternoon, did not address Trump’s call for part American ownership of the app.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told AFP the episode “marked a big win for TikTok and a political win for Trump.”

“The TikTok app was going to stay dark and Trump came to the rescue in this political game of high stakes poker between the US and China,” he said.

President proof?

At a pre-election rally on Jan 19 evening at a Washington sports arena, Trump hammered home his enthusiasm for saving the app, telling the crowd: “Frankly, we have no choice, we have to save it,” while indicating that there were a “lot of jobs” involved.

“We don’t want to give our business to China, we don’t want to give our business to other people,” Trump told his supporters.

The law allows for a 90-day delay of the ban if the White House can show progress toward a viable deal, but so far ByteDance has flatly refused any sale.

The Biden administration said it would leave enforcement of the law to Trump.

From teenage dancers to grandmothers sharing cooking tips, TikTok has been embraced for its ability to transform ordinary users into global celebrities when a video goes viral.

But it is also rife with disinformation, and its Chinese ownership has long spurred national security fears, internationally as well as in the United States.

The Jan 19 blackout came after the US Supreme Court on Jan 17 upheld the legislation banning it pending any sale.

Trump, who signed an executive order stepping up pressure on ByteDance to sell in 2020, has since credited the app with connecting him to younger voters.

It is unclear what the incoming president can do to lift the ban unless ByteDance ultimately sells, however.

“Congress wrote this law to be virtually president-proof,” warned Mr Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress.

Besides removing TikTok from app stores, the law requires Apple and Google to block new downloads, with the companies liable for penalties of up to US$5,000 (S$6,843) per user if the app is accessed.

Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, would also be legally obligated to enforce the ban.

‘I love TikTok’

In Europe, TikTok’s suspension drew praise from the foreign minister of Estonia, Mr Margus Tsahkna, who said on X that banning the platform “must be considered in Europe as well.”

The ban even became a hot topic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where American tennis player Coco Gauff scrawled “RIP TikTok USA” on a courtside camera.

Meanwhile, in the US state of Wisconsin, a man was accused of setting a fire early Jan 19 at a building where a member of congress keeps an office “in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban,” police in the city of Fond du Lac said in a statement.

The building was unoccupied, no one was hurt and the man is facing arson charges, police said.

A last-minute proposal made on Jan 18 by the highly valued start-up Perplexity AI offered a merger with the US subsidiary of TikTok, a source with knowledge of the deal told AFP.

The proposal did not include a price but the source estimated it would cost at least US$50 billion.