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LAST UPDATE | 20 Jan
TIKTOK RESTORED SERVICES in the United States last night after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.
The video-sharing platform 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.
TikTok had shut down in the United States late Saturday as a deadline loomed for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers.
Earlier yesterday, 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 “make a deal.”
He also called in a post on his Truth Social platform for the United States to take part ownership in TikTok.
Trump said he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” arguing that the app’s value could surge to “hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”
“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands,” wrote Trump, who had previously backed a TikTok ban and during his first term in office made moves towards one.
In a statement posted on X following Trump’s comments, TikTok said it “is in the process of restoring service.”
“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.”
TikTok, which was back online in the United States by Sunday afternoon, did not address Trump’s call for part American ownership of the app.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told AFP the episode “marked a big win for TikTok and a political win for Trump,” likening the episode to “high-stakes poker between the US and China.”
At a pre-election rally on Sunday evening at a Washington sports arena, Trump hammered home his enthusiasm for saving the app, telling the crowd: “Frankly, we have no choice, we have to save it,” while indicating that there were a “lot of jobs” involved.
“We don’t want to give our business to China, we don’t want to give our business to other people,” Trump told his supporters.
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.
The Biden administration said it would leave enforcement of the law to Trump.
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.
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.
Sunday’s blackout came after the US Supreme Court on Friday upheld the legislation banning it pending any sale.
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.
It is unclear what the incoming president can do to lift the ban unless ByteDance ultimately sells, however.
“Congress wrote this law to be virtually president-proof,” warned Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress.
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.
Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, would also be legally obligated to enforce the ban.
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Do the same here? Ban it from public transport anyway?
@Luke Littler: and vapers on transport. Ban them, too. How d’ya feel bout them, luke?
@wwvCLOuF: I smoke hash upstairs on the back of the 27. How do you feel about that, jmm?
@Stephen: Ah he-ur, leeeve ‘er aut!
@Stephen: yeah, go on. As long as it’s not ‘de geer’ like on the old 40 bus..
( asking luke/dave doe/tired jim/liam money…that guy…what he thought because he’s getting his local td to ban all vapers…. )
@Stephen: * Jim. You’ve smoked too much.
Well done, America! Hopefully other countries follow along.
@Daniel Skelton: It’s temporary. Trump will reverse the band tomorrow for 90 days. They’re trying to force a sale of it to his buddy Elon Musk, so they can influence the thinking of, and ultimately control, a greater portion of a new generation of voters. Mark my words…. The social media companies are teaming up to control America. Newspapers and the common news media are a thing of the past.
@Machine Learning IRE: What do you mean teaming up to control America? They have already been doing it for decades.
@Machine Learning IRE: So you prefer the Chinese Communist Party do it?
@Daniel Skelton: how will this help the average american in any tangible way?
@Machine Learning IRE: it’s like trump and his billionaire friends bought a copy of How to Set Up an Oligarchy for Dummies at the weekend
Ban all social media. Only allow Rte and the Journal. Society should only know what we need them to know….Hail!
@Dan The Man: whilst making them pay for the privilege too :)
@Dan The Man: you don’t have to ban them, just make them responsible for the content by making them follow the same publishing rules as newspapers and other publishers. Problem solved.
@Temp Stuff: exactly this!
@Temp Stuff: are rte responsible for the content they dish out,,,,,,,,,no I don’t think so.
Glad to live in Ireland where media groups would never decide which news stories you can express and opinion on.
@Sean Higgins: Media groups may not decide what you get to watch, but the government decides what you get to see.
@Sean Higgins: I see what you did there you wiley old fox.
@Sean Higgins: Thankfully we live in a society were the owner of a website can decide on how they run their website.
@Paul Harte: oh you’re one of them. Rolls eyes
They can ban Tiktok but never once have they banned porn sites despite the massive damage it’s doing to society….tells you all you need to know how they want society to run.
@Dere: what damage does porn do?
@Dere: why does it remind you of what you’re not getting
There is going to be a big demand in USA now for VPN’s to get around the ban… Personally I think the whole platform has an effect on the intellectual state of the younger generation
… And not in a positive way…. What a load of TIHS it is.
@Rory Murphy: that won’t save the American content makers though. They rely wholly on the USA viewership for a living
Am I mistaken or was trump against tik tok last time he was in office?
@Michael o Dwyer: no your not mistaken at all Trump is the ultimate populist politician. He’ll restore TikTok tomorrow for 90 days leaving enough time for Musk Zuck and other cronies to launch a bid Project Liberty won’t get a look in and Trump will be a hero to the dumb yanks. Interesting the amount of US senators who invested heavily in Meta stocks in the lead up to this ban. And another interesting thing is Mr Shou TikTok CEO will be at Trumps inauguration
Too late for America..its already f##t
@K H: Fart??
@David o sullivan: your hilarious
@David o sullivan: fast
@David o sullivan: feet
@David o sullivan: fort
@Brian McCarthy: his hilarious what?
@David o sullivan: fukt
Ordinary working responsible people just get on with life but time rich(idle) cranky Disrupters are always looking for ways to disrupt society. Social media and MSM have been populated by disrupters rather than builders.
The Misinformation Wars. Pick our lie sites! Their lies and society combusting algorithms = bad. Ours = good.
What will all the tic toc influencers do now? Hope it’s banned for ever
Oh noes!
They’ll just migrate to the next of many others…
Please ban it here too. It is such a toxic nasty platform with zero regulation or moderation.
Small loss
A good thing. Ban it before it becomes an open sewer like X.
What ever you do, don’t ban YouTube! Because it’s American and always tells the truth!
So he bows to China. He’s all talk that chap
No worries Trump will bring it back Monday he’s the boss now.
Total Control
The largest social media platforms are I n hock to Trump.
vpn
Tik Toxic….”This may be perceived as toxic”
Mindless rubbish
@Maurice: for every silly dancing woman on tik tok there are tonnes of educational, brilliant and informative vids. Your algorithms reflect you. You obviously like krap.
@Ted Daly: ah hear! in a 20s video clip delivering vital educational information approved by the communist party?
Like clockwork.
Its usually the ones telling the lies that want the truth banned
Covid anyone
have your say