TikTok announced on Sunday (January 19) that it is resuming services to users in the United States. Previously, the President-elect Donald Trump stated that he would restore TikTok on Monday (20th) after resuming office, but demanded that American companies own half of TikTok.
According to reports from Reuters and BBC, Trump said at a rally before the inauguration ceremony on Sunday: "Frankly, we have no choice. We must save it."
A few hours before the rally, TikTok said in a message to users: "Thanks to President Trump's efforts, TikTok is returning to the United States."
TikTok also made a statement on platform X and specifically thanked Trump. "According to the agreement with the service provider, TikTok is resuming service. We thank President Trump for providing our service providers with the necessary clarifications and assurances, preventing them from being penalized for offering TikTok services to over 170 million Americans and helping more than 700,000 small businesses thrive.
"We will work with President Trump to develop a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States."
Some American users mentioned that they are now able to access TikTok's website, and the TikTok mobile app has also begun to resume, but only offering basic services. As of Sunday night, TikTok was still unavailable for download in the U.S. app stores.
On Sunday, Trump stated on the TruthSocial platform: "I have asked companies not to blackout TikTok! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the deadline before the legal ban takes effect, in order to reach an agreement to protect national security."
Trump expressed his hope that the current owners of TikTok and the new owners establish a joint venture, "with the U.S. owning 50% of the joint venture."
A source told Reuters that the American search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid to ByteDance on Saturday (18th), hoping to merge with TikTok U.S.
