2 weeks Ago By Rob Thubron
What just happened? It's been an eventful weekend for TikTok. US users found they were unable to access the app on Saturday, the day before the law banning it in the United States came into effect. But services were being restored on Sunday when President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to delay the ban, giving TikTok more time to reach a deal that will allow it to stay in the US.
On Saturday, TikTok lived up to its threat to cut user access for users in the US ahead of the January 19 ban. Anyone in the country logging into the app was met with a message that read: "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. 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!" The blackout didn't last long. TikTok's services began returning on Sunday, for which the company thanked Trump. "As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US," it wrote in a message.
Related reading: Meta could make billions from TikTok ban, but the app's future remains uncertain In a statement, TikTok thanked Trump for "providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties (for) providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive." It added that the company would work with Trump "on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States." Despite being tough on China and attempting to ban the app during his first term in office, Trump has opposed the TikTok ban, claiming the app helped him win the youth vote.
He has promised to delay the law's implementation, even though it is already in effect, by up to 90 days after his inauguration. The law had required Chinese owner ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations by January 19 to continue operating in the US. Speaking about TikTok at a rally on Sunday, Trump said, "Frankly, we have no choice.
We have to save it." The incoming president wrote on his Truth Social platform that he wanted a "joint venture" in which the US government would own 50% of the company. Trump said the executive order would specify there would be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going offline before his order.
The Biden administration had said it would not enforce the law in its last hours of office, leaving it up to the incoming Trump administration. But TikTok still pulled its services on Saturday. When asked about TikTok and Trump seeking a deal, China's foreign ministry said on Monday that it believed companies should "decide independently" about their operations and deals.
"TikTok has operated in the US for many years and is deeply loved by American users," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. "We hope that the US can earnestly listen to the voice of reason and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for firms operating there." Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas, doesn't share Trump's soft spot for TikTok.
He wrote that any company that helps TikTok stay online, such as Google or Apple, would be breaking the law. "Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs," Cotton wrote. Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs.
Think about...
https://t.co/XamZ1qAk2K TikTok is no longer available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store at the time of writing. It was reported last week that Chinese officials were considering selling TikTok to X owner Elon Musk.
.
