WASHINGTON: TikTok restored service in the US on Sunday (Jan 19) after briefly going dark, as a regulation banning the wildly widespread app on nationwide safety grounds got here into impact.
TikTok credited President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes energy on Monday, for making the reversal attainable – although the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier mentioned that it might not implement any ban.
The video-sharing app had shut down within the US late on Saturday as a deadline for its Chinese language homeowners ByteDance to promote its US subsidiary to non-Chinese language patrons loomed.
Earlier on Sunday, as thousands and thousands of dismayed customers discovered themselves barred from the app, Trump promised to challenge an government order delaying the ban to permit time to “make a deal”.
He additionally known as in a publish on his Reality Social platform for the US to take part-ownership in TikTok.
The president-elect mentioned he “would love the US to have a 50 per cent possession place in a three way partnership”, arguing that the app’s worth might surge to “tons of of billions of {dollars} – possibly trillions”.
“By doing this, we save TikTok, preserve it in good palms,” wrote Trump, who had beforehand backed a TikTok ban and through his first time period in workplace made strikes in direction of one.
In an announcement posted on X following Trump’s feedback, TikTok mentioned it “is within the technique of restoring service”.
“We thank President Trump for offering the required readability and assurance to our service suppliers that they are going to face no penalties offering TikTok to over 170 million Individuals.”
TikTok, which was again on-line within the US by Sunday afternoon, didn’t tackle Trump’s name for half American possession of the app.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives instructed AFP the episode “marked an enormous win for TikTok and a political win for Trump”.
“The TikTok app was going to remain darkish and Trump got here to the rescue on this political sport of excessive stakes poker between the US and China,” he mentioned.
