TikTok is back in the US

 

At around 9:30 am Western time on the 19th (1:30 am Beijing time on the 20th), TikTok issued a statement on social media saying that the company has reached an agreement with the Internet service provider and is restoring relevant services. The reporter immediately checked that the TikTok app has resumed normal use, and the TikTok website has also returned to normal.

In a statement, TikTok thanked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for providing TikTok's Internet service providers with the necessary clarifications and assurances that they would not be penalized for helping to maintain TikTok's normal operation. TikTok also said it would work with Trump to find a long-term solution to keep the TikTok app available in the United States.

TikTok shut down its service to users in the United States at around 19:30 Western time on the 18th (11:30 Beijing time on the 19th). Several apps from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, stopped working in the US around the same time. American companies such as Apple, Google and Oracle, which support the TikTok app in the US, have also stopped their services.

Trump posted on social media earlier in the day, calling on companies not to put TikTok out of business. Trump said he would issue an executive order on the 20th to delay TikTok's "sell it or ban it" law from taking effect, and any company that helps keep TikTok running until then will not be liable.

In April 2024, US President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by both houses of Congress, requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese companies within 270 days, or the app will be banned in the US after January 19, 2025.

On the 17th of this month, the US Supreme Court ruled that TikTok's "sell it or ban it" law was not unconstitutional. This means that the Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect as originally planned on the 19th. The Biden administration later said that the responsibility for law enforcement rests with the Trump administration, which will take office on the 20th. TikTok responded on the 17th that unless the Biden administration makes a clear statement of non-liability to the US Internet service provider, the platform will be forced to shut down on the 19th.