TikTok begins restoring US service after Trump vows to delay ban

TikTok said it is restoring access to the video app after President-elect Donald Trump pledged that companies that distribute and host the platform would not be held liable for violating the US ban that took effect on Sunday.

“In agreement 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 for offering TikTok.”

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said it would work with Trump “on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

The web version of TikTok appeared to be running in the US by Sunday afternoon, while the app was up and running several hours later.

However, TikTok is yet to appear in 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 will no longer be able to update the app. “Apple is obligated to follow the laws in 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 ensuring that companies that enabled TikTok to remain on the service would not be held liable for violating the ban passed by Congress.

TikTok halted the service this weekend ahead of a Sunday deadline stemming from a law requiring ByteDance to sell the video app to avoid a ban on app stores that allow downloads.

As of midnight on Saturday, companies such as Apple, Google, Akamai and Oracle were banned from providing services to distribute or host the app and were subject to 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 dark!” Trump said on its Social Truth platform on Sunday.

“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the ban goes into effect, so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security,” the president-elect said.

Mike Waltz, the Florida state representative who will become national security adviser when Trump is inaugurated on Monday, told CNN that the president-elect would consider allowing Chinese ownership to continue but with “firewalls” to ensure app data is “protected here on American soil.”

Trump said in his Truth Social post that he would like the United States to have a “50 percent ownership interest in a joint venture.”

“By doing this, we are saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and allowing it to have a say [sic] Trump said. “Without US approval, there would be no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps trillions.”

“My initial idea is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners, where the US would take 50 percent ownership in a joint venture created between the US and any purchase we choose.”

US lawmakers and 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.

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the ban. Trump said on Saturday that he would “probably” extend the deadline for selling 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 kind of ‘extension’.”

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars in devastating liability under the law, not just from the Department of Justice.” [Department of Justice]“But also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and public state corporations,” Cotton said in a post on X. “Think about it.”

One person involved in drafting the law said there was no provision for an extension once the January 19 deadline passes.

It allowed a 90-day extension if certain conditions were met — including evidence of “significant progress” toward divestment and “binding agreements” to enable implementation — but only if it was before the deadline.

In his first term, Trump issued an order stopping TikTok from operating in the United States, but it was blocked by the courts. He also tried to design a deal that would ensure China would not have access to the data. Chinese law requires Chinese companies to hand over data when ordered by the government.

Last year, Trump expressed his opposition to the withdrawal or ban law passed by Congress, saying that it would help Facebook, which he banned from using its platform for two years. Facebook competes with TikTok through its Instagram app.

On Friday, Trump made 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 did not mention the app.

Vice President Han Zheng will attend the inauguration ceremony on Monday instead of Xi, who was invited by Trump.

Asked why Trump was launching a “charm attack” on China, Waltz told CBS that a relationship with the Chinese leader was essential to addressing issues ranging from the flow of Chinese chemicals used to make fentanyl to tensions in the South China Sea.

“[Trump] He added that he believes he can only enter into these deals with this type of system by having a relationship

Additional reporting by George Hammond in San Francisco