TikTok restored its services for users in the United States on Sunday, 19th January 2025, after being unavailable for around 16 hours. The popular short video-sharing platform was found to be withdrawing its services in the US late Saturday, less than two hours before the federal ban on this Chinese social media application was to be effective.
When the users attempt to use the app, a message appears on the application informing the users that a law regarding the TikTok ban has been effective in the US. As a result, the users of the platform in the US will unfortunately no longer be able to use the application for now. It was also added in the message that “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”.
However, after the assurance of US President-elect Donald Trump to pause the federal ban for a few months through the issuance of an executive order on his first day in office, the social media application has been seen to emphasize the restoration of its services on 19th January 2025.
In a post on X (Previously known as Twitter), the company also thanked Donald Trump for providing assurance and clarity to their service providers that any penalties will not be imposed on them for keeping the services of the app available for more than 170 million Americans and facilitating more than 7 million small businesses to prosper. However, Trump’s stance on the TikTok ban is confusing as he was among the first ones who recognize the need for the ban of the app, and now he is trying to save the future of the app in the US.
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, 2025Detailed timeline of TikTok Ban chaos in the US
After the decision of various governments to restrict the service of the TikTok app on official devices, the former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in July 2020 that the US government was considering the ban of the Chinese app permanently. In an interview, Donald Trump also said in favour of the ban in order to take revenge on China for the Covid-19 pandemic. On 6th August, Trump issued an executive order regarding the prohibition of the services of the app, describing it as a national security threat.
It has been alleged that the video-sharing platform owned by the Chinese organization Bytedance Ltd. gathers personal and proprietary information and sensors the contents which are regarded as politically sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party. However, the executive order issued by Trump was blocked several times in September, October and November 2020 by the Columbia District Court judge and federal judge due to the lack of proper evidence against the company.
Next, in July 2021, the president at that time, Joe Biden, circulated another executive order withdrawing the attempts of the Trump Administration to ban the Chinese app. However, Joe Biden was also found to be concerned about the usage of the app that is controlled under Chinese ownership. Therefore, in December 2022, a new bill was also proposed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which aims to restrict all the transactions of social media organisations in the US under foreign adversaries.
In March 2024, ByteDance was forced to sell its popular short video-sharing platform TikTok app into US ownership in relation to the legislation approved by the cybersecurity experts because of the risks related to the app as described by the cybersecurity experts. In April 2024, another bill was also passed by the US Senate and signed into law by President Biden, reinforcing Bytedance to sell the platform to a US company; otherwise, it can face a permanent ban in the US after 19th January 2025.
In response to the lawsuit from the popular Chinese communication company, on January 18th, 2025, the Supreme Court announced the decision to uphold the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act approved by the Senate. This means the apps which are operating in the US but owned by the Chinese companies are required to sell under US ownership or their operations will be suspended in the nation.
On Saturday, Trump said that he would make efforts to sign a 90-day extension from the enforcement of the potential ban after taking charge in office on Monday. On the same day, the TikTok app informed its users in the US regarding its offline status. As a result, the app became unavailable from both the Google Play Store and Apple Store. However, after getting more clarity from Trump regarding getting no penalty under the sell-off bill, Oracle, the service provider of the Chinese social media app, agreed to help restore their services. Nevertheless, the app is still available in the app stores of Apple and Google because of the fear of legal proceedings.
On 20th January 2025, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump instructed the Attorney General to non-enforcement the ban through an executive order for a period of 75 days to enable them the determination the most appropriate way to strengthen national security while avoiding the certain shutdown of a popular social media platform which is used by around 170 millions of Americans.
Future of TikTok in the US
The search for a most potential US buyer is ongoing by ByteDance while Trump has revealed that the US government should have a 50 per cent ownership in the American operations of the company through a joint venture. Many other investors, including Elon Musk, are also included in the list of potential buyers, but any final deal is not taken yet. Trump also said about the possibility of imposing tariffs on China in case of not approving a sale by Beijing.
The users who have already installed the app previously are able to use the app while it is no longer being newly downloaded or updated as the app is removed from the app stores. As per the legal experts, though the executive order of Trump temporarily pauses the enforcement of the ban, companies like Google and Apple are not fully protected from the legal risks which lead to them removing the app from their app stores. Therefore, the future of the TikTok app in the US still remains uncertain as no potential buyer has yet been found.
FAQ
1. Why was TikTok unavailable in the United States on January 19, 2025?
The app was found to be withdrawing its services in the US late Saturday, less than two hours before the federal ban on the Chinese social media application was to be effective.
2. What happened after TikTok’s service was paused in the US?
After the assurance of US President-elect Donald Trump to pause the federal ban for a few months through the issuance of executive order on his first day in office, the TikTok app restored its services on January 19, 2025.
3. Why did President Trump initially support the TikTok ban?
It has been alleged that the video-sharing platform owned by the Chinese organisation Bytedance Ltd. gathers personal and proprietary information and sensors the contents, which are regarded as politically sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party.
4. What is the current status of TikTok in the US?
The app is still available in the app stores of Apple and Google because of the fear of legal proceedings. The users who have already installed the app previously are able to use the app while it is no longer being newly downloaded or updated as the app is removed from the app stores.
5. What steps are being taken to resolve the situation with TikTok in the US?
On January 20, 2025, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump instructed the Attorney General to non-enforcement the ban through an executive order for a period of 75 days to enable them the determination the most appropriate way to strengthen the national security while avoiding the certain shutdown of a popular social media platform which is used by around 170 million Americans.
