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 violating a US ban that took effect on Sunday.
“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 the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties provided by TikTok.”
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said it would work with Trump “on a long-term solution that will keep TikTok in the US.”
TikTok’s web version appeared to be working in the US by Sunday afternoon, while the app was functional a few hours later.
However, TikTok still hasn’t appeared on the Apple and Google app stores. Apple has told visitors to its app store that they cannot download TikTok. It also told existing users that they would no longer be able to update the app. “Apple is required to comply with 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 order on Monday guaranteeing that the companies that allowed TikTok to remain operational would not be held liable for violating the ban passed by Congress.
TikTok suspended the service this weekend ahead of a Sunday deadline stemming from a law that required ByteDance to sell a video app to avoid a ban on app stores that allow downloads.
As of midnight Saturday, companies such as Apple, Google, Akamai and Oracle have been banned from providing distribution or hosting services for the app and face fines of up to $5,000 per user. Akamai and Oracle, which provide cloud services to TikTok, did not respond to requests for comment.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay in the dark!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“On Monday, I will issue an executive order to extend the time period before the statutory bans go into effect, so we can make a deal to protect our national security,” the president-elect said.
Mike Waltz, a Florida lawmaker who will become national security adviser when Trump is inaugurated on Monday, told CNN the president-elect would consider allowing further Chinese ownership, but with a “firewall” to ensure the app’s data is “protected here on American soil”.
Trump said in his post on Truth Social that he would like the US to “have a 50 percent ownership position in the joint venture.”
“By doing this, we’re saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and letting it say (sic) up,” Trump said. “Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars—perhaps trillions.”
“My initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners with the US getting 50 percent ownership in a joint venture established between the US and any purchase we choose.”
Lawmakers and U.S. security officials believe the Chinese government could use TikTok to obtain Americans’ personal information, which could facilitate espionage. TikTok denies that China has any control over the app.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban on Friday. On Saturday, Trump said he would “most likely” extend the sales deadline for TikTok, which has been downloaded by 170 million Americans, by 90 days.
But some Republican lawmakers, including Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, said in a statement that “there is no legal basis for any ‘extension’.”
“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise enables the communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars in devastating legal liability, not only from the DOJ (Department of Justice), but also under the Securities and Exchange Act. papers, shareholder lawsuits, and the state AG,” Cotton said in a post on X. “Think about it.”
One person involved in drafting the bill said there was no provision for an extension beyond the Jan. 19 deadline.
He granted a 90-day extension if certain conditions were met — including evidence of “substantial progress” toward the sale and “binding agreements” enabling execution — but only if before the deadline.
In 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 strike a deal that would ensure China could not access the data. Chinese law requires Chinese companies to hand over data when ordered to do so by the government.
Trump last year voiced opposition to congressional takedown or ban legislation, 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 held his first conversation with President Xi Jinping since leaving the White House in 2021. He said they discussed TikTok, although a Chinese reading of the call did not mention the app.
Vice President Han Zheng will attend Monday’s inauguration in place of Xi, who was invited by Trump.
Asked why Trump is launching a “charm offensive” with China, Waltz told CBS that the relationship with the Chinese leader was needed to address issues ranging from the flow of Chinese precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl to tensions in the South China Sea.
“(Trump) believes he can only enter into these deals with that type of regime if he has a relationship,” he added.
Additional reporting by George Hammond in San Francisco
