TikTok is back online in US after Trump vows to pause ban: NPR

The TikTok app logo is displayed on an iPhone Friday, Jan. 17, in Houston.

Ashley Landis/AP

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Ashley Landis/AP

After a black out that lasted about 14 hours, TikTok has returned to the US

The hugely popular video app was taken offline on Saturday night in compliance with a law that effectively banned the service nationwide unless it splits from ByteDance, its China-based owner. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the law.

On Saturday, Google and Apple removed the app from their stores, a requirement of the ban, which also prohibits web hosting companies from providing back-end support for the app.

When Biden officials said they would leave enforcement of the law to the Trump administration, web hosting services weren’t sure they wouldn’t be sued. The law outlines tough penalties for violations that could cost companies billions.

On Sunday morning, President-elect Donald Trump effectively reversed the blackout with a single post to his social network Truth Social: He issued a statement promising to put the law on hold, saying he would extend a liability shield to tech companies that support TikTok as the app’s future is worked out by his incoming administration.

Not long after companies that provide web support, including Oracle and Akamai, restored the TikTok website and app to millions of users in USB But Trump’s remarks on Sunday gave the web providers the security they needed to bring TikTok back, according to a person close to on TikTok’s ongoing discussions with the Biden administration and Trump’s transition team, who were not authorized to speak about the negotiations.

TikTok’s future is still clouded by legal and political issues.

Apple and Google, which run the almighty app stores for mobile devices, still haven’t agreed to let TikTok return.

Without the backing of these two companies, TikTok cannot be downloaded by new users; the app cannot receive vital software updates to fix bugs and other bugs; and in-app purchases have stalled, with users unable to purchase “coins” during live streams or paid subscriptions.

Legal researchers like Alan Rozenshtein of the University of Minnesota Law School say TikTok’s business partners are going their separate ways: Apple and Google are holding out, while Oracle and Akamai have restored service based on Trump’s Truth Social posts.

“These ‘service providers’ have lost their minds,” Rozenshtein said in one post on X. “There is no certainty that Trump, who is not even president yet, can provide,” he said, predicting that lawsuits could be the next phase of the TikTok saga.

Under the TikTok ban law, supporting the app before divestment could trigger fines of $5,000 per user, easily running into billions of dollars in potential penalties.

Apple, Google, Oracle and Akami did not return a request for comment.

Legal experts said the tech giants may be waiting to see if Trump follows the letter of the law, which requires the White House to confirm to Congress that a deal to sell TikTok is in the works before it can halt enforcement of the ban .

Beyond the Apple and Google quagmire, some Washington lawmakers are questioning Trump’s ability to intervene without complying with the specific requirements set out in the law.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that Trump does not have the authority to delay the start date of a law that is already in effect. He noted in a post on X that there could be serious consequences for Apple, Google and other companies to help TikTok before it splits from ByteDance.

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face billions of dollars in punitive damages under the law,” Cotton wrote. “Not only from the DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits and state AGs,” he continued, referring to the Justice Department and state attorneys general. “Think about it.”