Donald Trump declares ‘TikTok is back’ in ‘joint-venture with US’ hours after app was shut down for 170million users
DONALD Trump has declared TikTok "is back" in the US under a "joint-venture" with the country hours after the app was shut down for 170million users.
A new law came into effect banning the service's use in the States on Sunday amid fears its Chinese parent company ByteDance could misuse Americans' data.
But the returning Republican President, 78, has said he'll issue an executive order to extend TikTok's life in the US.
This, it is hoped, will give more time to work out a deal with China and avoid a permanent ban.
Speaking at a MAGA rally in the Capitol One Arena in Washington D.C. ahead of his inauguration on Monday, Trump told supporters: "As of today, TikTok is back.
"I said, I'll approve, but let the United States of America own 50% of TikTok.
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"I'm approving on behalf of the United States. So they'll have a partner, the United States, and they'll have a lot of bidders.
"And the United States will do what we call a joint venture."
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It comes after TikTok chiefs said the platform is "in the process" of restoring the service to users in the US - with some already reporting resumed access.
Referencing Trump's post on X earlier in the day promising the order once he's back in the White House, ByteDance said: "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 federal ban came into force over the weekend.
App users who tried logging on were simply met with a message telling them they "can't use" the platform "for now".
The law penalizes companies that “distribute” or “update” the app with fines of up to $5,000 for each user affected.
The outgoing Biden team indicated it will leave enforcement of the law to the incoming Trump administration.
Other apps owned by ByteDance, including video editing app CapCut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in US app stores.
It is a promise TikTok cited in its notice posted to app users who tried to sign in late on Saturday.
In the message, TikTok said: " A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, you can't use TikTok for now.
"We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.
"Please stay tuned."
How Donald Trump Could Still Save TikTok
On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld a congressional bill banning TikTok in the United States
The law would not immediately remove TikTok from phones nationwide or force it to go dark.
However, tech companies that continue hosting the app or updating it in their app store could face penalties.
US users with existing TikTok accounts can still access the app freely.
But, TikTok could eventually become obsolete as app stores and cloud providers will no longer be allowed to push out updates for the platform.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he will review the banning of TikTok and will make a decision of platform's future.
The ban is set to go into effect on January 19, 2025, a day before Trump is sworn in as president.
There are several ways Trump could interfere and save TikTok momentarily.
- President Joe Biden has said he will not enforce the law against tech companies who host TikTok on their app store when it goes into effect on January 19, 2025.
- Instead, Biden said it will leave that decision up to the incoming Trump administration.
- Trump could instruct the Department of Justice to ignore the law and not enforce it, while they work out a deal to separate TikTok from ByteDance, its Chinese-owned parent company.
- The president-elect could also sign an executive order pausing the ban for 60 to 90 days.
- Trump's team have repeatedly said the president-elect has "expressed desire to save TikTok."
- "President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there's no better dealmaker than Donald Trump," a Trump spokesperson said.
Even if temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok, owned by is set to have a wide-ranging impact on US-China relations.
It will also impact the social media marketplace and millions of Americans who depend on the app economically and culturally.
The United States has never banned a major social media platform.
The law passed overwhelmingly by Congress gives the incoming Trump administration sweeping authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok.
"It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday.
"We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration.
"So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them."
What apps could replace TikTok?
By Millie Turner, Senior Technology & Science Reporter
SINCE the announcement, rival apps have been hoping to become the new number one social media platform.
Instagram users will be familiar with the app's Reels function, which lets people create and flick through short videos.
Reels will be a popular alternative, with most TikTok users and creators already having a presence on Instagram.
Many influencers already had a rhythm of posting their TikToks to Instagram Reels, long before talk of the ban surfaced.
However, some creators have coke out against using Instagram Reels, so it is still unclear how much extra traffic the app will receive in the coming days.
RedNote, a Chinese-language social media app which is now available in English, seems to be the unspoken replacement of TikTok.
The app, called Xiaohongshu in Chinese, works in a similar way to TikTok in that users are able to post short-form videos and live-stream to other people.
More than half a million so-called 'TikTok refugees' have already flocked to the platform.
It features similar content to what can be found on TikTok, such as product reviews, comedy, and influencer content.
Until now, its user base has been almost exclusively based in China.
This potentially poses even more risks for the US government, who sought to ban TikTok because of its links to China.
With RedNote arguably being even more closely entangled with Chinese power, the move will likely not be popular among US officials.
Lemon8 is another app owned by ByteDance and has been climbing the rankings in the Apple App Store.
The app lets users upload photos like Instagram, short videos like TikTok, and even has a section that allows users to interact with different types of content, like Pinterest.
Short video app Clapper, which also launched in the wake of TikTok in 2020, caters to users 18 and older.
It's like TikTok, but for adults.
The US platform saw a fourfold increase in downloads as Congress moved to pass TikTok-banning legislation last year, according to its founder, Edison Chen.
Since its launch in 2016, the popular social media has taken over the internet, and has brought with it the careers of several new creators.
The app particularly came into prominence during the COVID pandemic.
The decision to ban the platform has been met with extreme criticism from creators on the app as well as TikTok's CEO Shou Chew.
The CEO was grilled by the Supreme Court for his accused links to the Chinese state.
Chew is Singaporean by birth and strongly denied any allegations of Chinese interference in TikTok.
In a video responding to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban, he said: “We have been fighting to protect the constitutional right of free speech for the more than 170 million Americans who use our platform every day to connect, create, discover and achieve their dreams.
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“On behalf of everyone at TikTok, and our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.
“We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform, one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process.”