On Saturday night, TikTok experienced an outage for users in the US, yet it may soon be operational again.
On Sunday morning, President-elect Donald Trump communicated via Truth Social that he intends to issue an executive order on Monday. This order aims to “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions become effective, allowing for negotiations to safeguard national security.”
Prior to the TikTok disruption, Trump indicated he would probably grant the company a 90-day extension.
In his Sunday post, Trump shared his “initial thought” regarding a potential agreement, suggesting that it could involve “a joint venture between existing and/or new owners, with the U.S. obtaining a 50% stake.”
Last April, bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress passed legislation requiring ByteDance to either divest TikTok or face a ban in the United States; President Joe Biden promptly signed the legislation. Trump, who previously sought to compel ByteDance to divest TikTok during his first term, voiced strong opposition to the ban at this time.
Following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law on Friday, the legislation was set to take effect on Sunday. With Trump’s inauguration scheduled for Monday, officials from the White House and Department of Justice hinted they would defer the actual implementation of the ban to the incoming president.
However, TikTok expressed that “critical service providers” required a more “definitive statement” to ensure they would not face repercussions for continuing to support or list the app. Without such assurances, the app would remain inactive. A spokesperson from the White House dismissed TikTok’s claims as “a stunt.” Upon experiencing the outage, TikTok communicated to users that “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated his willingness to collaborate on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he assumes office.”
Trump’s post implies a desire for TikTok to return to operation even before he enacts his executive order, stating that he is “requesting companies not to allow TikTok to remain inactive” and his order will “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that assisted in keeping TikTok operational prior to my order.”
Trump stated that “Americans deserve to witness our exciting Inauguration on Monday, along with other events and discussions.”
