TikTok says its restoring service after U.S. shutdown

TikTok is “within the technique of restoring service” in the USA after shutting down for a big portion of Sunday.

Late on Saturday night time, the corporate voluntarily eliminated itself from Apple and Google’s app shops, leaving 170 million customers with out the flexibility to make use of or obtain TikTok to their units. After going darkish, anybody who logged on to the video-sharing app was met with a message saying “you possibly can’t use TikTok for now.” However on Sunday afternoon, the corporate issued a second assertion suggesting it had discovered a pathway to restoring service. (The replace didn’t present a timeline for when full service could be restored, although many customers are already reporting that the app is again up and working.)

“In settlement with our service suppliers, TikTok is within the technique of restoring service,” TikTok’s Coverage account posted to X. “We thank President Trump for offering the required readability and assurance to our service suppliers that they’ll face no penalties offering TikTok to over 170 million Individuals and permitting over 7 million small companies to thrive. It’s a robust stand for the First Modification and in opposition to arbitrary censorship. We are going to work with President Trump on a long-term answer that retains TikTok in the USA.”

“There isn’t any doubt that, for greater than 170 million Individuals, TikTok provides a particular and expansive outlet for expression, technique of engagement and supply of group,” the courtroom mentioned in its ruling. “However Congress has decided that divestiture is important to handle its well-supported nationwide safety issues relating to TikTok’s knowledge assortment practices and relationship with a overseas adversary.”

The motion by the U.S. authorities, which first gained momentum thanks an govt order from President Trump administration, then fell to Congress and President Joe Biden to problem into regulation, was born out of a concern that possession by the Chinese language-based ByteDance posed a nationwide safety danger for Individuals. However within the days earlier than the regulation was to take impact, each Biden and Trump kicked the can on taking motion to forestall the shutdown.

“We have now laid out our place clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this regulation will fall to the following administration,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, mentioned final week. The administration mentioned it will fall on the incoming president to make the following transfer. In response, TikTok made clear that the app would go darkish if the federal government didn’t intervene.

In his personal assertion final week, President Trump mentioned he would negotiate the state of affairs when he arrives to workplace on Monday, although how he would achieve this stays unclear. An inside memo issued at TikTok, seen by The Verge, urged that there’s hope for motion and “that groups are working tirelessly to convey our app again to the U.S. as quickly as doable.”

In the meantime, some TikTok customers have already discovered their subsequent platform. Within the lead as much as the shutdown, media apps RedNote and Lemon8, both saw a surge in new users.

Replace (Jan. 19, 1:50pm): We have now up to date particulars of this story following a press release from TikTok.