After the Supreme Court decided to uphold the TikTok ban on Friday, the app went dark in the U.S. on Saturday night for the 170 million Americans who use it with the message, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
However, the app was back by midday Sunday, though still unavailable on app stores.
TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump for giving it the “clarity” to return online with no penalty.
TikTok’s welcome back message for users read: “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
Why Was TikTok Banned?
Congress passed a law in April 2024 called the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gave TikTok until January 19 to separate from Beijing-based parent company ByteDance and be sold to a non-Chinese company or face a ban from U.S. app stores.
Lawmakers were concerned about U.S. user data making its way to the Chinese government and TikTok spreading Chinese propaganda to the American public.
Related: Here’s How Long ByteDance Has to Sell, and Why TikTok Is Preparing for a Legal Battle
TikTok fought the law in the courts, arguing that it was unconstitutional and violated the free speech guaranteed in the First Amendment. The social media company brought its argument before the Supreme Court on January 10, but was unsuccessful: The court upheld the TikTok ban on Friday.
Why TikTok Is Back
The change arrived thanks to a Sunday post from Trump on Truth Social. Trump asked companies not to let TikTok stay dark and stated that he would issue an executive order on Monday to lengthen the time TikTok has before the law’s restrictions take place.
The order would ensure there would be “no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark” before his executive order.
Trump also stated that he wants the U.S. to have 50% ownership of a joint venture to own TikTok.
“Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose,” Trump wrote.
In a statement provided to TechCrunch on Sunday following Trump’s post, TikTok said that it was “in the process of restoring service.”
“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 statement read.
Another Possible Buyer Emerges
TikTok has already received many bids (official and not) for the platform.
Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary joined forces with billionaire and former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in a $20 billion bid to buy the platform. Trump stated on Sunday that he wants the U.S. to own half of TikTok. There were also reports that Chinese officials talked about selling TikTok to Elon Musk, which TikTok called “pure fiction.”
Now, reports emerged that AI search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid of at least $50 billion to ByteDance on Saturday to create a new merged entity consisting of TikTok U.S., Perplexity, and its partners, per CNBC.
The merger would add more videos to Perplexity and allow ByteDance investors to keep their equity stakes.
ByteDance has previously indicated that it would not sell TikTok, so Perplexity believes it has a chance with a merger rather than a sale.
Related: ‘I Am Open to Investing’: Mark Cuban Announces Open Call for ‘Anyone’ Who Can Build a TikTok Alternative
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