TikTok hails Trump for saving

(MENAFN) TikTok has resumed service for U.S. users after a 14-hour shutdown, crediting President-elect Donald Trump for his role in securing the app’s return. The shutdown followed pressure from the U.S. government for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest ownership amid national security concerns and the potential misuse of user data. The app had become temporarily inaccessible and was missing from app stores after failing to meet a January 19 deadline set under a federal law. Upon logging in, users were greeted with a message thanking Trump: "Welcome back! As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US." Speaking at a rally in Washington D.C. on Sunday, Trump confirmed the app’s restoration, declaring, “As of today, TikTok is back... we have to save it.”

Trump also announced plans to grant TikTok a 90-day extension once he assumes office, allowing the app more time to secure a buyer outside of China. “I’ll approve, but let the United States of America own 50% of TikTok,” Trump explained, proposing a joint venture between the U.S. and the company. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked Trump for his efforts to keep the platform accessible to 170 million American users. Chew is expected to attend both Trump’s victory rally and inauguration on Monday. The brief TikTok outage caused many American users to switch to RedNote, a competing Chinese-owned app, which quickly surged to the top of the U.S. Apple App Store charts. This shift was highlighted by the viral hashtag #TikTokRefugee, which tracked the migration of users to the alternative platform.

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