TikTok was gone. It's back with a Trump lifeline

On Sunday, TikTok users in the United States were momentarily silenced after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a new law that requires the social media app’s Chinese owner to sell TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban.

Within hours of the shutdown however, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he planned to issue an executive order that would grant ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, a 90-day extension to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform goes dark permanently.

Trump, who will be sworn into office on Monday, announced his decision on his social media site, Truth Social, saying that his order would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

TikTok immediately announced that it was in the process of restoring the platform. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the company said in a statement.

By midmorning Sunday, the app was back online.

The ban, as enacted, would make it illegal for app stores such as Apple and Google Play to distribute TikTok or issue updates to the social media app. Companies that don’t abide face civil penalties of $5,000 per user.

Facing a shutdown, millions of the app’s users expressed disbelief, sadness, anger and defiance, with many posting farewell messages and others mock funerals; while critics have argued that this is a blow to free speech.

“I’m upset,” said Joey Soboleski II, a 26-year-old model, actor and photographer. “I have my conspiracy theories as to why it’s being taken down. Silencing or suppressing different ideas and points of view on life that people are able to share without interference of censorship, that is what the real problem is.”

The Daily Mail, the British media outlet, quickly announced it was launching a new hub for short-form video content on its homepage in an effort to fill the TikTok void.

TikTok’s viability had been uncertain since then-President Trump moved to shut it down in 2020, citing national security concerns. Trump and others raised the prospect that TikTok owner ByteDance could assist the Chinese government by sharing the data it collects from its more than 100 million American users, embedding malicious software in the app or helping to spread disinformation.

Kate Ruane of the Center for Democracy & Technology called the high court’s decision “unprecedented“ in a statement, saying that the ban “harms the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world. Individuals use the app to create, to share information, to get their news, to comment on current issues and promote their businesses — that’s precisely the kind of expression the First Amendment is intended to protect.”

Numerous businesses have argued that TikTok was a crucial alternative to Instagram and YouTube shorts that helped grow their brands and drive commerce.

“For brands, businesses, artists and creators, TikTok is more than just a platform, it’s a launchpad for careers, a development hub for cultural trends and a vital channel for connecting with consumers. TikTok has become indispensable to music artists’ careers — think Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan,” said Vishal Ramakrishnan, chief business officer, Round Group, a global marketing tech company, in a statement.

Before leaving office, President Biden had emphasized that he did not plan to enforce the ban before the new administration took office.

Staff writer Andrea Chang contributed to this report.