On January 7, 2025, US President-elect Donald Trump delivered a speech at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump After being sworn in on Monday, he said he would restore TikTok’s use in the United States through an executive order, but said he wanted the popular social media app to be at least half-owned by American investors.
Tik Tok stop working The site’s 170 million U.S. users began using it late Saturday before a law to shut it down on national security grounds took effect on Sunday. U.S. officials have warned that Americans’ data is at risk of being misused under the leadership of Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Trump said he would “extend the time before the legal ban takes effect so that we can reach a deal to protect our national security.”
He wrote on Truth Social: “I want the United States to have 50% ownership in a joint venture. By doing this, we can save TikTok, put it in good hands, and give it a voice.”
Trump said the executive order would make it clear that any company that helped prevent TikTok from shutting down before his order would be held liable.
Trump had earlier said he would likely Give TikTok a 90-day reprieve TikTok cited his promise to lift the ban after taking office in a notice to users on the app.
“The United States has enacted laws banning TikTok, which unfortunately means you can’t use TikTok right now. We are fortunate that President Trump has said he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Please, please Stay tuned,” a message notifying TikTok users later disappeared from the site. apple and Google App Store later Saturday.
Even if temporary, TikTok’s unprecedented shutdown is bound to have widespread consequences for U.S.-China relations, U.S. politics, the social media market, and the millions of Americans who are economically and culturally dependent on the app.
The United States has never banned a major social media platform. The law passed overwhelmingly by Congress gives the incoming Trump administration sweeping powers to ban or seek to sell other Chinese-owned apps.
As of Saturday evening, other apps owned by ByteDance, including video editing app CapCut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in U.S. app stores.
It’s unclear if any US users can still access the app, but it no longer works for many users, and those seeking to access the app via the web app have also received the same message, namely TikTok no longer works.
Turn to alternatives
Under the law passed last year and unanimously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, the platform has until Sunday to sever ties with its Chinese parent or shut down its U.S. operations to address concerns it poses a threat to national security.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday accused the United States of using unfair state power to suppress TikTok. The spokesperson said that China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
Uncertainty about the app’s future has led users, mainly young people, to scramble to alternatives, including China’s RedNote. Shares of rivals Meta and Snap had risen this month before the ban as investors bet on an influx of users and advertising revenue.
“This is my new home now,” one user wrote in a RedNote post tagged “tiktokrefugee” and “sad.”
Minutes after TikTok shut down in the United States, other users started using X (formerly Twitter).
“I really didn’t expect them to cut off TikTok. Now I’m sad and I miss the friends I made there. Hopefully everything will be back in a few days,” @RavenclawJedi wrote.
The “hair is on fire” moment
NordVPN, a popular virtual private network (VPN) that allows users to access the internet from servers around the world, said it was “experiencing temporary technical difficulties.”
According to Google Trends, web searches for “VPN” surged in the minutes after U.S. users became unable to access TikTok.
Users on Instagram are concerned about whether they will still receive items purchased on TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.
Marketing companies that rely on TikTok scrambled to prepare contingency plans that one executive described as “hair on fire,” amid months of conventional wisdom that there would be a solution to keep the app running.
There are signs that TikTok could make a comeback under Trump, who has said he wants to seek a “political solution” to the issue and last month urged the Supreme Court to suspend the ban.
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew plans to attend Sunday’s U.S. presidential inauguration and attend a rally with Trump, a source told Reuters.
Acquirers including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt have expressed interest in the fast-growing business, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. Media reports said Beijing was also in talks to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, but the company denied this.
U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid to ByteDance on Saturday Confusion merges with TikTok US Perplexity will merge with TikTok US and create a new entity by merging the combined company with other partners, the person added.
Privately held ByteDance approximately 60% of its shares are held by institutional investors, e.g. BlackRock and General Atlantic, whose founders and employees each own 20%. More than 7,000 employees in the United States
