TikTok Restores Service in U.S. Following Trump’s Intervention
Following Trump's announcement, TikTok confirmed it was in the process of restoring service and emphasized its commitment to working with the new administration on a long-term solution.

TikTok has begun restoring its services in the United States after briefly going dark due to a law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the platform.
This shutdown was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law aimed at addressing national security concerns related to TikTok’s ties to China. The app went offline just before the law’s enforcement deadline on January 19, 2025, but access was reinstated following statements from President-elect Donald Trump.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump announced plans to issue an executive order on January 20, 2025, to delay the enforcement of the ban for 90 days. He expressed his desire for the U.S. to hold a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture involving TikTok, arguing that this arrangement would secure the app’s future and potentially increase its value significantly.
TikTok thanked Trump for providing “the necessary clarity and assurance” that would allow service providers to operate without fear of penalties during this period.
Following Trump’s announcement, TikTok confirmed it was in the process of restoring service and emphasized its commitment to working with the new administration on a long-term solution.
The company highlighted that this move represented a defence of free speech and an effort against arbitrary censorship, aiming to support over 170 million American users and more than 7 million small businesses reliant on the platform.
During a victory rally on Sunday, Trump took the stage to claim credit for ensuring TikTok’s survival in the U.S. The 47th President asserted that his intervention was pivotal in preventing the popular social media platform from being banned.
“TikTok requires federal approval, and they won’t get it without joint ownership,” Trump stated, underscoring his role in pushing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, into a shared ownership deal. He further emphasized the app’s importance in safeguarding jobs.
Trump also remarked, “I used TikTok to win the 2024 election,” highlighting his success in appealing to younger voters aged 18-29.
His claim that TikTok played a key role in securing the youth vote aligned with the fact that he captured a larger share of this demographic compared to Kamala Harris.