TikTok is partially back online in the US, but it’s not back in the App Store yet
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images TikTok is bringing its service back online in the US, after shutting down for about half a day. The company said this afternoon that it is “in the process of restoring service” and thanked President-elect Trump for “providing the necessary clarity” to do so. US users were shut out of TikTok last night ahead of the federal ban coming into effect, with the app displaying a message that its services were “temporarily unavailable.” Service started to be restored on Sunday around 12PM ET in TikTok’s mobile app and on the web. The app now displays a message saying “Welcome back!” and crediting Trump with restoring service. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” the message reads. Screenshot: The Verge A pop-up now appears when opening up the TikTok app saying that service has been restored thanks to Trump. Trump said this morning that he would issue an executive order on Monday, once he takes office, extending TikTok’s timeline to be sold. He said there would be “no liability” for companies that support TikTok even before his order goes into effect. TikTok’s hosting provider, Oracle, and its CDN partner, Akamai, have restored service and are relying on Trump’s promise, according to NPR’s Bobby Allyn and The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell. However, the app’s return is happening without support from Apple and Google, as it remains unavailable in the App Store and Google Play. Those companies may still not be comfortable with the risk of breaking the law banning TikTok, which remains in effect and levies steep fines on those who break it. Both app stores currently display messages explaining why the app isn’t available if you’re searching for TikTok: Screenshot: Google Play Store Searching for the Android app yields this message. Screenshot: iOS App Store Apple’s App Store has a similar message to Google’s. Still, TikTok appears confident in its return. The company sent a memo to advertisers Sunday afternoon letting them know that its service will soon “become available for the majority of U.S. users” and that ad campaigns will resume with “certain limitations” on live campaigns. The state of the ban has been up in the air over the past few days. TikTok lost a Supreme Court case on Friday, allowing the ban to go into effect. But the Biden administration punted on enforcement, declaring that it “will be up to the next administration to implement” the ban. Republican senators are pushing back on Trump and TikTok That led to Trump’s declaration today that he would extend the sale deadline. The incoming president said he would still require that the app be sold, adding that it would possibly be through “a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50 percent ownership.” After losing at the Supreme Court, TikTok has been openly pandering to Trump as a last-ditch effort to avoid the ban. TikTok CEO Shou Chew attempted to flatter Trump in a video ahead of the deadline, and TikTok has released multiple statements and pop-up notices crediting Trump with helping to restore service. Trump and TikTok are receiving pushback on their attempt to skirt the ban, though. Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts put out a joint statement Sunday morning saying there was “no legal basis” to extend the ban’s effective date beyond January 19th while praising Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for pulling the app from their stores. Both senators had called “some of the major tech companies in recent days to say they needed to comply with the law,” according to The New York Times. Cotton later said that any company that helps distribute TikTok could face “hundreds of billions of dollars” in fines from entities beyond the federal government. “Think about it,” he warned. Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about… https://t.co/XamZ1qAk2K— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 19, 2025 There are no updates yet on what TikTok’s partial return means for the other ByteDance-linked apps that users have been locked out of, such as CapCut and Marvel Snap. TikTok, Google, Apple, Amazon, Oracle, and Akamai have not responded to our requests for further comment. TikTok’s full statement is below: In agreement with our service providers, TikTok 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 and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.
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TikTok is bringing its service back online in the US, after shutting down for about half a day. The company said this afternoon that it is “in the process of restoring service” and thanked President-elect Trump for “providing the necessary clarity” to do so.
US users were shut out of TikTok last night ahead of the federal ban coming into effect, with the app displaying a message that its services were “temporarily unavailable.” Service started to be restored on Sunday around 12PM ET in TikTok’s mobile app and on the web.
The app now displays a message saying “Welcome back!” and crediting Trump with restoring service. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” the message reads.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25838245/Image_from_iOS__4_.jpg)
Screenshot: The Verge
Trump said this morning that he would issue an executive order on Monday, once he takes office, extending TikTok’s timeline to be sold. He said there would be “no liability” for companies that support TikTok even before his order goes into effect.
TikTok’s hosting provider, Oracle, and its CDN partner, Akamai, have restored service and are relying on Trump’s promise, according to NPR’s Bobby Allyn and The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell.
However, the app’s return is happening without support from Apple and Google, as it remains unavailable in the App Store and Google Play. Those companies may still not be comfortable with the risk of breaking the law banning TikTok, which remains in effect and levies steep fines on those who break it.
Both app stores currently display messages explaining why the app isn’t available if you’re searching for TikTok:
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25838183/Screenshot_2025_01_19_at_11.59.27_AM.png)
Screenshot: Google Play Store
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25838184/Image_from_iOS.jpg)
Screenshot: iOS App Store
Still, TikTok appears confident in its return. The company sent a memo to advertisers Sunday afternoon letting them know that its service will soon “become available for the majority of U.S. users” and that ad campaigns will resume with “certain limitations” on live campaigns.
The state of the ban has been up in the air over the past few days. TikTok lost a Supreme Court case on Friday, allowing the ban to go into effect. But the Biden administration punted on enforcement, declaring that it “will be up to the next administration to implement” the ban.
That led to Trump’s declaration today that he would extend the sale deadline. The incoming president said he would still require that the app be sold, adding that it would possibly be through “a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50 percent ownership.”
After losing at the Supreme Court, TikTok has been openly pandering to Trump as a last-ditch effort to avoid the ban. TikTok CEO Shou Chew attempted to flatter Trump in a video ahead of the deadline, and TikTok has released multiple statements and pop-up notices crediting Trump with helping to restore service.
Trump and TikTok are receiving pushback on their attempt to skirt the ban, though. Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts put out a joint statement Sunday morning saying there was “no legal basis” to extend the ban’s effective date beyond January 19th while praising Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for pulling the app from their stores. Both senators had called “some of the major tech companies in recent days to say they needed to comply with the law,” according to The New York Times.
Cotton later said that any company that helps distribute TikTok could face “hundreds of billions of dollars” in fines from entities beyond the federal government. “Think about it,” he warned.
Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about… https://t.co/XamZ1qAk2K— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 19, 2025
There are no updates yet on what TikTok’s partial return means for the other ByteDance-linked apps that users have been locked out of, such as CapCut and Marvel Snap.
TikTok, Google, Apple, Amazon, Oracle, and Akamai have not responded to our requests for further comment.
TikTok’s full statement is below:
In agreement with our service providers, TikTok 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 and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.
It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.
