TikTok ‘in process’ of restoring service to US users after Trump’s ‘clarity’

Move comes after President-elect says he planned to sign an executive order after his inauguration to give China-based parent company more time to work out a deal to keep the ban from becoming permanent

Washington: TikTok says it’s “in the process” of restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a new law.

The company that runs TikTok said in a post on X on Sunday that tech companies that faced fines if they didn’t remove TikTok’s app from the digital stores and other service providers had agreed to help.

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STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:

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 face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170…

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025

TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who on Sunday said he planned to sign an executive order after his inauguration on Monday to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to work out a deal to keep the ban from becoming permanent.

President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent US ban.

Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account as millions of TikTok users in the US awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.

Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with a federal law that required them to do so if TikTok parent company ByteDance didn’t sell its US operation by Sunday.

He said his order would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.

“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump wrote. The law gives the sitting president authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is underway. Although investors made a few offers, ByteDance previously said it would not sell. In his post on Sunday, Trump said he “would like the United States to have a 50 per cent ownership position in a joint venture”, but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the government or an American company.