TikTok returns to operate in the US
After a day of being banned, TikTok is now back operating in the United States just about 12 hours after being down, when President-elect Donald Trumps called for the app to be saved. TikTok users in the US received a notification “Thank you for your patience and support. Thanks to President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back,” the platform informed US users in the early morning January 20 Hanoi time.
Previously, on January 19, TikTok proactively “shut down” so that users in the United States could not access the platform from January 19. TikTok along with Lemon8 and Capcut, both owned by ByteDance, were also pulled from the App Store and Google Play.
If the user tries to open the application, they will receive a message: “The law banning TikTok has begun to take effect in the US. That means you cannot use it now. Luckily, President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to coordinate with us to find a solution to remove barriers for TikTok after taking office.
TikTok's return is a good sign for millions of people in the US, especially those who use TikTok to follow news and entertainment, and content creators on TikTok have high followers, interactions, and earnings. money on this platform.
Currently, the number of TikTok users in the US is about 170 million, accounting for half of the population. TikTok is also a major partner of many service providers in data storage, applications or marketing services.
How did TikTok turn off the lights on January 19?
TikTok is currently “lights off” in the US after the law banning or requiring ByteDance to divest passed last year and officially took effect. This application has been removed from the Apple and Google app stores, cannot be accessed on the web, and when users open the application, they will receive a message blocking them from being able to watch the video.
With an estimated 170 million users in the US according to data from the company itself, TikTok has become the first major social network to completely shut down in a country without any indication of timing or possibility. ability to return. Although other social media platforms have encountered temporary disruptions in the past, the complete shutdown of a large platform like TikTok is unprecedented.
TikTok announced that it was forced to stop operating in the US because it had not received any specific guarantees from the government about continuing to operate. In a notice sent to users, TikTok said it was working to restore the service. At the same time, ByteDance affirmed that selling shares to comply with the law is not feasible.
The US government has opposing views. The Biden administration believes that the ban was inherited from the Trump administration and criticized TikTok for not reaching the necessary agreement. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump recently expressed his desire to help TikTok maintain operations, even proposing a 90-day extension for ByteDance to divest.
In addition to TikTok, other ByteDance applications such as CapCut and Lemon8 were also affected. The future of TikTok in the US is still a big question mark. Despite the ban, no one wants to be directly responsible for the platform's removal, which leaves room for all parties to find a satisfactory solution.
However, whether TikTok returns to the US or not will depend on the results of negotiations between ByteDance, the US government and current leaders. This is a battle that not only revolves around privacy rights but also has political and economic factors.
