Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

TikTok restores service in US, thanks Trump

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1737326442462New Project.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The logo of TikTok is seen during the China International Textile and Garment Supply Chain Expo in Hangzhou, in eastern China&#x27;s Zhejiang province on December 5, 2024. AFP photo"/><span class="fr-inner">The logo of TikTok is seen during the China International Textile and Garment Supply Chain Expo in Hangzhou, in eastern China&#x27;s Zhejiang province on December 5, 2024. AFP photo</span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON - TikTok restored service in the United States Sunday after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.</p><p>TikTok credited President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes power on Monday, for making the reversal possible -- though the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.</p><p>The video-sharing app had shut down in the United States late Saturday as a deadline for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers loomed.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/17/us-supreme-court-upholds-law-banning-tiktok-2357">US Supreme Court upholds law banning TikTok</a></div><p>Earlier Sunday, as millions of dismayed users found themselves barred from the app, Trump promised to issue an executive order delaying the ban to allow time to &quot;make a deal.&quot;</p><p>He also called in a post on his Truth Social platform for the United States to take part-ownership in TikTok.</p><p>The president-elect said he &quot;would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,&quot; arguing that the app&#x27;s value could surge to &quot;hundreds of billions of dollars -- maybe trillions.&quot;</p><p>&quot;By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands,&quot; wrote Trump, who had previously backed a TikTok ban and during his first term in office made moves towards one.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/1/18/explainer-what-happens-after-the-tiktok-ban-0846">EXPLAINER: What happens after the TikTok ban?</a></div><p>In a statement posted on X following Trump&#x27;s comments, TikTok said it &quot;is in the process of restoring service.&quot;</p><p>&quot;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.&quot;</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1881030712188346459&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-01-19T22%3A11%3A24.036677%3Ab0045c4b-c358-457b-bfc1-d5ce1a86563e%26action%3Dedit%26popup&amp;sessionId=25721cd2696b18811ed3e58f9cef346cca850922&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:369px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1881030712188346459"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>TikTok, which was back online in the United States by Sunday afternoon, did not address Trump&#x27;s call for part American ownership of the app.</p><p>Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told AFP the episode &quot;marked a big win for TikTok and a political win for Trump.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The TikTok app was going to stay dark and Trump came to the rescue in this political game of high stakes poker between the US and China,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- President proof? -</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The law allows for a 90-day delay of the ban if the White House can show progress toward a viable deal, but so far ByteDance has flatly refused any sale.</p><p>The Biden administration said it would leave enforcement of the law to Trump.</p><p>From teenage dancers to grandmothers sharing cooking tips, TikTok has been embraced for its ability to transform ordinary users into global celebrities when a video goes viral.</p><p>But it is also rife with disinformation, and its Chinese ownership has long spurred national security fears, internationally as well as in the United States.</p><p>Sunday&#x27;s blackout came after the US Supreme Court on Friday upheld the legislation banning it pending any sale.</p><p>Trump, who signed an executive order stepping up pressure on ByteDance to sell in 2020, has since credited the app with connecting him to younger voters.</p><p>It is unclear what the incoming president can do to lift the ban unless ByteDance ultimately sells, however.</p><p>&quot;Congress wrote this law to be virtually president-proof,&quot; warned Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress.</p><p>Besides removing TikTok from app stores, the law requires Apple and Google to block new downloads, with the companies liable for penalties of up to $5,000 per user if the app is accessed.</p><p>Oracle, which hosts TikTok&#x27;s servers, would also be legally obligated to enforce the ban.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;I love TikTok&#x27; -</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In the US state of Wisconsin, a man was accused of setting a fire early Sunday -- at a building where a member of congress keeps an office -- &quot;in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban,&quot; police in the city of Fond du Lac said in a statement.</p><p>The building was unoccupied, no one was hurt and the man is facing arson charges, police said.</p><p>In Europe, TikTok&#x27;s suspension drew praise from the foreign minister of Estonia -- among the countries most resilient to disinformation, according to the European Media Literacy Index.</p><p>&quot;Banning TikTok must be considered in Europe as well,&quot; Margus Tsahkna said on X.</p><p>The ban even became a hot topic at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where American tennis player Coco Gauff scrawled &quot;RIP TikTok USA&quot; on a courtside camera.</p><p>&quot;I love TikTok, it&#x27;s like an escape... hopefully it comes back,&quot; the world number three told reporters.</p><p>A last-minute proposal made Saturday by the highly valued start-up Perplexity AI offered a merger with the US subsidiary of TikTok, a source with knowledge of the deal told AFP.</p><p>The proposal did not include a price but the source estimated it would cost at least $50 billion.</p><p>burs-bs/bfm</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p>

<p>TikTok restored service in the United States Sunday after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.</p>

TikTok restored service in the United States Sunday after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.