TikTok Goes Dark, Restarts After Executive Order Commitment From Trump
TikTok said it was restoring service after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order ensuring service.
Update on Jan. 19, 2024, at 2:12 p.m. ET: TikTok restored service on Sunday, saying it was restoring service after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order ensuring service on his first day in office.
In a statement about 10 a.m. on his social media network Truth Social, Trump wrote:
I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday 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.
Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - maybe trillions.
Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025
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…
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2025 – As the internet buzzed on Saturday about potential future owners of TikTok on Saturday — including the AI search engine Perplexity – the social network’s parent company on Saturday began to take the platform offline.
The announcement, posted on the TikTok app beginning at around 9 p.m. ET, blamed the U.S. law, passed last April and upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday for forcing the shuttering.
In the announcement on TikTok, the company, which is owned by the Chinese-controlled entity ByteDance, said:
“We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re woking to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
A subsequent message was even more pointed:
A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. 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!
For this user, TikTok was still available at 10:30 p.m., but was unavailable by 11 p.m.
What’s the reason for the shutdown?
The 36 hours between the beginning of Sunday on the East Coast and the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday at Noon creates an unusual backdrop for both President Joe Biden and Trump — as well as TikTok itself – to cast blame on exactly who was cutting off a service used by 170 million Americans. That’s more than half of the people in the country.
