Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- TikTok has restored its services in the US following intervention by President-elect Donald Trump.
- The app remains unavailable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
- Trump has promised to sign an executive order pausing TikTok’s US ban on his first day in office.
After the events of the past few hours, TikTok’s US ban and shutdown is starting to feel like a big political drama more than an issue of national security. Following a federal ban on Saturday, when TikTok went dark for millions of Americans and was removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the platform and its services are back up again in the country.
TikTok’s short-lived US ban was followed by an announcement from President-elect Donald Trump, who stated that he would sign an executive order pausing the ban on his first day in office.
Trump announced his decision to act on the matter via Truth Social. He added that he aims to provide TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, more time to find a US buyer before the ban takes full effect.
As a result, TikTok reappeared for users on Sunday afternoon with a message thanking Trump for his intervention. “Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!” the message read.
TikTok’s shutdown on Saturday came after the Supreme Court ruled that national security concerns over the app’s Chinese connections outweighed the company’s free speech argument. Despite the app’s restoration, it remained unavailable for download from major app stores. Other ByteDance apps, including Lemon8 and CapCut, were also removed from app stores.
Market analysts speaking to the Associated Press have described the move as a calculated strategy, noting that the controversy has boosted TikTok’s visibility in the US and also earned incoming President Trump more credit from the app’s users.
“It was a brilliant marketing stunt for both TikTok and incoming president Donald Trump,” Jasmine Enberg, an analyst with market research firm Emarketer, told AP. “By abruptly shutting off service, TikTok proved how unpopular the ban was among its users,” she added.
