TikTok begins restoring US service after Trump pledges to pause ban, says companies not liable
TikTok says it is restoring access to the video app after President-elect Donald Trump vowed companies that distribute and host the platform would not be held liable for violating a US ban that came into effect on Sunday (Monday NZT).
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company said on Sunday afternoon. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok.”
Trump said today he would issue an executive order for TikTok to be reopened in the US.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!”, Trump posted to his Truth Social platform.
“I will issue an executive order on Monday [local time] to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.
“My initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners ... By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up.”
Trump will be sworn in as the President tomorrow.
READ MORE: TikTok going dark: $100 million spender Zuru says ‘it’s a negotiating tactic’
TikTok started to go offline on Saturday evening (local time) for its estimated 170 million US users.
The app went voluntarily “dark” slightly ahead of a January 19 sale-or-ban law.
Some experts had expected TikTok to immediately disappear from app stores, but still be functional on users' phones for several months before the lack of updates made it unstable.
Trump had already indicated he would seek to pause the ban for 60 or 90 days to allow time to negotiate a sale. The political theatre of TikTok going dark added to the urgency of his white-knight quest.
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have reported Elon Musk is a potential buyer or investor.
In August 2020, in the final months of his first term, Trump signed a TikTok sale-or-ban order, citing the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to harvest compromising data about US citizens via the app.
But the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, was able to tie his effort up in legal appeals until after Trump left office.
On March 7, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers received a closed-door security briefing on TikTok.
Whatever those members of the Energy and Commerce Committee saw (which was never made public) was sufficiently disturbing to lead them to vote 50-0 to fast-track legislation that would force ByteDance to sell the app by January 19, 2025, or face a ban.
Republicans and Democrats duly banded together in a rare display of unity to pass the measure through Congress (the Senate vote was 79 to 18, the House of Representatives 360 to 58). It was then signed into law by US President Joe Biden and upheld by the Supreme Court in a unanimous January 17 ruling.
Trump – now converted to a TikTok fan – invited the app’s chief executive, Shou Chew, to be a guest of honour at his inauguration, underlining his intention to reverse the ban.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.