TikTok is Restored After Rejected Appeals and Shutdown

TikTok restored service to users in the US just a few hours after an initial shutdown since President-elect Donald Trump vowed to pause a ban on TikTok by executive order on his first day in office. The company said in a statement, “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”. Trump urged TikTok's partners to allow it to be restored, claiming there will be no liability for any company responsible for sustaining the app. He also considered a 90-day extension so he can work out a deal to sell the app, perhaps via a 50-50 joint venture between ByteDance and an American owner.

TikTok’s owners had appealed to the Supreme Court last week, claiming that the impending ban would violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause. However, SCOTUS rejected the appeal and allowed for the ban to start, justifying its decision by asserting national security concerns outweigh alleged violations. The Supreme Court, in an unanimous decision siding with the Biden administration, supported the bipartisan law requiring TikTok owner ByteDance to divest its ownership of the app or face a ban. As ByteDance has refused to sell TikTok, it shut the app down, and it was made inaccessible before the deadline of January 19, becoming unavailable on Apple or Google Play stores as well. TikTok wasn’t the only app that had been affected. Lemon8 and Capcut also shut down their services, due to their ownership by ByteDance. 

How the ban will or will not continue is reliant on Trump’s final decision, and he inaugurates January 20, one day after the ban had been instituted and taken down. While Trump advocated for the TikTok ban during his previous term, he has now become a staunch supporter with almost 15 million followers on the platform, and his presidency may be a game-changer for the app's fate in the United States. His changed attitude towards TikTok seems related to his meeting with a Republican investor last February, who was majorly engaged with ByteDance. In December, Trump asked the court to pause the law's enforcement and allow the Trump administration to find a solution.

Accordingly, when the app was opened over the duration of the ban, a message read: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” Once Trump takes office, the administration’s Justice Department led by attorney general Pam Bondi will be responsible for the actual enforcement of the law, but her stance is extremely unclear. 

Read More Here: 

• Caitlin Yilek, CBS News

• Clare Duffy and David Goldman, CNN

• John Fritze, Tierney Sneed, Devan Cole, Pamela Brown, Clare Duffy, Kit Maher, Evan Perez and Brian Stelter, CNN

• Bart Jansen, USA today

• Daniel Barnes and Raquel Coronell Uribe, NBC News

• Rachel Treisman, NPR

• Sapna Maheshwari, Madison Malone Kircher, Eli Tan and Meaghan Tobin, The New York Times

• Jonathan Vanian, CNBC