Users in the United States have been anxiously gazing at their mobile handsets this weekend, after TikTok went dark for a time and then began to come back online.

On late Saturday TikTok stopped working for its 170 million users in the United States ahead of the nationwide ban in America that began on Sunday 19 January 2025. Some users however were reportedly able to log on to the platform on Sunday via their mobile apps and desktops.

TikTok had switched off in the US after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the divest or ban law (otherwise known as the ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.’)

Restoring access

When TikTok went dark, American users were confronted with the following message.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means 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.”

The app also disappeared from Apple and Google app stores late on Saturday.

But on Sunday in a tweet on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), TikTok revealed it is restoring service in the US thanks to the intervention from President-elect Trump.

“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” it stated. “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.”

STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:

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…

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025

Trump intervention

Soon after when TikTok went dark, President-elect Donald Trump had posted “SAVE TIKTOK!” in a Truth Social post.

Trump then posted that he would sign an executive order on Monday following his inauguration on Monday to delay a federal ban of the app.

“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” Trump wrote on Sunday morning.

It is a remarkable u-turn, considering that Trump in his first term had tried to ban TikTok.

Late last month, Trump had urged the Supreme Court to intervene and forcibly delay implementation of the ban to give him time to find a “political resolution.”

Trump had earlier said he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday.

Uncertain future

Despite TikTok’s pledge to reinstate service in the US following Trump’s statement, the platform’s future in the US remains unclear due to the current law, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Trump has previously stated on Truth Social that he would like the United States to hold 50 percent ownership of TikTok in a joint venture to “keep it in good hands and allow it to stay up.”

However Chinese owner ByteDance has not changed its stance, and has always stated that it would rather shutter the app in the US rather than sell it.

TikTok ban

The US Congress had passed a bill in April 2024 mandating that parent company ByteDance either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a total shutdown.

Shortly after that US President Joe Biden signed the bill into law.

TikTok is already been banned on US federal devices due to national security concerns.

A majority of US states have also banned the app on state-owned devices.

The app had been preparing to shutdown its US operations on Sunday 19 January, a day before Donald Trump assumes power on Monday 20 January.