TikTok ‘Restoring Service’ After Donald Trump Shares New Plan

TikTok announced on Sunday that it’s in the “process of restoring service” and thanked President-elect Donald Trump, after the app went dark in the United States on Saturday night.

“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is 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 Chinese-owned social media company told Newsweek in an emailed statement.

It added: “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

This comes after Trump posted a proposed plan to Truth Social on Sunday morning to try and save the app in the U.S. Shortly thereafter, the company’s website could be viewed by many in the U.S. and functionality for the app returned for some users.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s team for comment on Sunday morning.

Why It Matters

TikTok’s temporary outage and the potential of an outright ban spotlight a growing tension between the U.S. government and foreign-owned technology companies. The app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company with ties to the government in Beijing. Advocates of the ban argue the app poses a national security risk, while opponents see it as a critical platform for free expression and small business promotion.

The app’s survival is significant not only for its massive user base but also for the estimated 7 million small businesses relying on it for marketing and sales. TikTok’s restoration signals a potential shift toward resolving the deadlock between policymakers and the company, although its future remains uncertain.

What to Know

The brief outage came after months of legal challenges and government scrutiny of TikTok’s operations. The app went offline on Saturday night, with users reporting error messages and inaccessible features. TikTok attributed the issue to disruptions involving U.S.-based service providers, some of which had hesitated to continue supporting the app amid ongoing litigation.

The breakthrough followed a post by Trump on his platform, Truth Social, where he outlined a plan to allow TikTok to remain operational in the U.S. Details of the plan remain unclear, but TikTok’s decision to credit Trump for providing “clarity and assurance” suggests it involves protections for service providers and continued negotiations.

The law to ban or force a sale of TikTok was passed with significant bipartisan majorities in the Senate and the House last year. The Supreme Court also upheld the ban in a Friday ruling.

In recent months, Trump’s stance on TikTok has evolved. During his first term, he signed executive orders to ban the app, which were later blocked by courts. His change in position followed meetings with American investors and public acknowledgment of TikTok’s role in his political outreach during the 2024 election.

What People Are Saying

President-elect Donald Trump on Truth Social Sunday morning: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

Senators Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, and Pete Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, said in a joint statement on Sunday: “There is no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday: “When President Trump issued the Truth [Social] post and said, ‘Save Tiktok,’ the way we read that is that he’s going to try to force along a true divestiture, changing of hands, the ownership… It’s not the platform that members of Congress are concerned about. It’s the Chinese Communist Party and their manipulation of the algorithms — they have been flooding the minds of American children with terrible messages glorifying violence and anti-semitism and even suicide and eating disorders.”

What Happens Next

TikTok and its service providers are likely to face continued scrutiny as the app’s operations remain tied to ongoing debates over national security and regulation of foreign-owned technology. TikTok’s commitment to a “long-term solution” suggests that negotiations between the company, its service providers and U.S. policymakers are far from over.

For now, the restoration of service offers a temporary reprieve for millions of users and businesses, though questions about the app’s future in the U.S. loom large.

Update, 01/19/25 at 4:58 p.m. ET: This article and the headline were updated.