MONITORING (SW) – TikTok resumed services to its 170 million users in the US after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order to give the app a reprieve when he takes office today.
On Saturday evening, the Chinese-owned app stopped working for American users, after a law banning it on national security grounds came into effect.
Trump, who had previously backed a ban of the platform, promised yesterday to delay implementation of the law and allow more time for a deal to be made.
TikTok then said that it was in the process of “restoring service”. Soon after, the app started working again and a popup message to its millions of users thanked Trump by name.
In a statement, the company thanked the incoming president for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance” and said it would work with Trump “on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States”.
TikTok issued an earlier statement after U.S. users reported being able to access the Chinese-owned service’s website while the far more widely used TikTok app itself began coming back online for some users with just a few basic services. Late on Sunday, the app was unavailable for download on U.S. app stores.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said in the earlier statement that also 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.”
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration today.
