TikTok said it was restoring access to the video app after President-elect Donald Trump promised that companies that distribute and host the platform would not be held liable for violations of a U.S. ban that took effect on Sunday would.
“In consultation with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company said later on Sunday. “We thank President Trump for providing our service providers with the clarity and assurance they need that they will not face penalties for providing TikTok.”
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said it would work with Trump “on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the US.”
The web version of TikTok appeared to be working in the US on Sunday afternoon, while the app was functional several hours later.
However, TikTok still did not appear in the Apple and Google app stores. Apple told visitors to its App Store that they couldn’t download TikTok. Additionally, existing users were told they could no longer update the app. “Apple is committed to following the laws of the jurisdictions in which it operates,” the company said.
Apple and Google did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump said he would issue an executive order on Monday guaranteeing that companies that allowed TikTok to remain on the service would not be held liable for violations of a ban passed by Congress.
TikTok had shut down the service this weekend ahead of a Sunday deadline stemming from the law that required ByteDance to sell the video app to avoid a ban on app stores that allow downloads.
As of midnight Saturday, companies including Apple, Google, Akamai and Oracle were banned from providing services to distribute or host the app and faced fines of $5,000 per user. Akamai and Oracle, which provide cloud services for TikTok, did not respond to requests for comment.
“I ask companies not to let TikTok stay in the dark!” said Trump on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time until the Act’s prohibitions take effect so that we can reach an agreement to protect our national security,” the president-elect said.
Mike Waltz, a Florida lawmaker who will become national security adviser when Trump takes office on Monday, told CNN the president-elect would consider continuing to allow Chinese ownership but with “firewalls” to ensure the app’s data is “here.” “are protected on US soil”.
Trump said in his Truth Social post that he would like the U.S. to have “a 50 percent stake in a joint venture.”
“With this we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and let it be said (sic) high,” Trump said. “There is no TikTok without US approval. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”
“My first thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners, with the U.S. receiving a 50 percent interest in a joint venture between the U.S. and our chosen purchase.”
Lawmakers and U.S. security officials believe the Chinese government could use TikTok to obtain Americans’ personal information, which could make espionage easier. TikTok denies that China has any control over the app.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban on Friday. Trump said Saturday he would “most likely” extend the deadline for selling TikTok, which has been downloaded by 170 million Americans, by 90 days.
But some Republican lawmakers, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton and Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, said in a statement that there was “no legal basis for any type of ‘extension.'”
“Any company that hosts, distributes, serves or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face ruinous liability under the law in the hundreds of billions of dollars, not only from the DOJ (Department of Justice), but also from the DOJ securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and government AGs,” Cotton said in a post on X. “Think about it.”
A person involved in drafting the law said there was no provision for an extension beyond the Jan. 19 deadline.
It allowed for a 90-day extension if certain conditions were met – including evidence of “significant progress” on the divestiture and “binding agreements” to enable execution – but only if the deadline was met before the deadline expired.
During his first term, Trump issued an order to stop TikTok from operating in the US, but it was blocked by the courts. He also tried to negotiate a deal that ensured China had no access to the data. Under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to release data if the government orders them to do so.
Trump expressed opposition to Congress’s Devestor Ban bill last year, saying it would help Facebook, which banned him from its platform for two years. Facebook competes with TikTok through its Instagram app.
On Friday, Trump had his first phone call with President Xi Jinping since leaving the White House in 2021. He said they discussed TikTok, although the Chinese readout of the call made no mention of the app.
Vice President Han Zheng will attend the inauguration on Monday in place of Xi, who was invited by Trump.
Asked why Trump launched a “charm offensive” with China, Waltz told CBS that a relationship with the Chinese leader was needed to address issues ranging from the flow of Chinese precursor chemicals to make fentanyl to tensions in southern China Sea range.
“(Trump) believes he can only make these deals with this type of regime if he has a relationship,” he added
Additional reporting by George Hammond in San Francisco
