Around 12 hours after shutting itself down in the United States, TikTok is back for many users almost like it never left, attributing its return to a move by President-elect Donald Trump to save the app.
The whiplash move to bring the app back comes after TikTok became unusable for Americans late Saturday night.
Users who tried to open the app at that time were met with a message saying it was offline and asking users to “stay tuned.”
The app was also unavailable on the Apple and Google Play stores, along with Lemon8 and CapCut, which are also owned by TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance.
Early on Sunday, Trump said he would issue an executive order following his inauguration to delay enforcement of the divest-or-ban law.
And within hours, access to TikTok’s app and webpage began to return for US users.
In a statement TikTok says in agreement with their service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service adding they thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to their service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” in Washington, DC, Sunday night, before being seated prominently at the incoming president’s inauguration Monday.
[Source: CNN]
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