TikTok is live again in the U.S., but how long that lasts is anyone’s guess—and largely up to incoming President Donald Trump.
After briefly shutting itself down for American users, TikTok flipped the switch back on Sunday afternoon.
For now, TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users can scroll, post, and doom-watch to their heart’s content. But the bigger question—whether TikTok can stay in the U.S. without a forced sale—is still wide open.
The app credited Trump for the sudden turnaround, saying he’d promised to delay enforcement of a law that would’ve forced TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also made it clear that TikTok’s tech partners—including Apple, Google, and Oracle—wouldn’t be penalized for keeping the app available in the meantime.
That was the green light TikTok needed. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok,” the company said in a statement. “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Trump’s latest move buys time, but it doesn’t erase concerns about national security or data privacy that have fueled the fight over the app. If TikTok and ByteDance can’t satisfy lawmakers, this whiplash could happen all over again. |