{"id":12202,"date":"2025-01-20T03:26:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T03:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/?p=12202"},"modified":"2025-01-20T03:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T03:26:23","slug":"tiktok-restores-service-in-the-u-s-less-than-24-hours-after-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/?p=12202","title":{"rendered":"TikTok Restores Service in the U.S. Less Than 24 Hours After Blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"

After President Joe Biden’s administration said it won’t enforce a ban before Donald Trump takes office, the president-elect announced his hope to not let “TikTok stay dark”<\/h2>\n
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Stock image of social media user on TikTok in December 2024.<\/span>Photo:<\/span><\/p>\n

NurPhoto via Getty\u00a0Stock Photos<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Published on January 19, 2025 01:14PM EST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

TikTok<\/a> has restored service in the U.S. less than 24 hours after its nationwide shutdown.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Jan. 19, TikTok announced on X<\/a>, via an official statement shared to its policy account, that it is “in the process of restoring service” to Americans after going dark the night prior<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“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 and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the statement continued, referring to President-elect Donald Trump<\/a>‘s recent comments about not letting “TikTok stay dark.”<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” the statement added. “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”<\/p>\n

As of 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 19, users are able to access the app.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for TikTok did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information.<\/p>\n

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A woman opens Tiktok on her smartphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Helena Dolderer\/picture alliance via Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TikTok’s return comes hours after its Saturday night shut down, when those who opened the app were greeted with a message that read, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”<\/p>\n

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the message continued, before referring to Trump’s indicatiation that he would “work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office” on Monday, Jan. 20.<\/p>\n

TikTok’s pop-up message changed throughout the day, with a recent message noting that it was “working to restore our service in the U.S.”<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court previously\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0on Jan. 17 that the law forcing TikTok to cease U.S. operations if it didn’t divest from Chinese ownership was constitutional, following the sell-or-ban\u00a0legislation<\/a>being passed by congress and signed by Joe Biden<\/a>last year.<\/p>\n

Essentially, ByteDance \u2014 the owners of TikTok \u2014 would have to either sell the app over fears China’s government could use its data to harm Americans, or shut down. TikTok has previously denied that information on the app would be shared with the Chinese government, calling it “outright censorship of the American people.”<\/p>\n

Following the court’s decision, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “President Biden\u2019s position on TikTok has been clear for months. … TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”<\/p>\n

She also shared that due to the “sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that\u00a0actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration<\/a>, which takes office on Monday.”<\/p>\n

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User holds up TikTok in front of American flag.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaap Arriens\/NurPhoto via Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump \u2014 who initially revealed a plan to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0during his first term in office in April 2020 \u2014 announced the following morning that he intended to issue an executive order to stall its federal ban and keep the platform running, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 19, the 78-year-old politician wrote on his Truth Social<\/a> platform that he would “issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law\u2019s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.” His message arrived a day after a phone interview with NBC News\u2019\u00a0Meet the Press\u00a0<\/em>moderator Kristen Welker, during which he also teased a potential 90-day extension for TikTok.<\/p>\n

“The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump wrote. “Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”<\/p>\n

In the same post, the president-elect shared an “initial thought” of the U.S. having 50% ownership in TikTok via a “joint venture,” between the app’s “current owners and\/or new owners.”<\/p>\n

“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up,” he wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After President Joe Biden’s administration said it won’t enforce a ban before Donald Trump takes office, the president-elect announced his hope to not let “TikTok stay dark”… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t