“As of today, TikTok is back!” United States President-elect Donald Trump declared in his speech before his inauguration.
“Republicans have never won the youth vote. We won the youth vote by 36 points. So I like TikTok!” he said.
In response, TikTok CEO Shou Chew posted a public message commending the upcoming president for reinstating the social media platform.
The fall and rise of TikTok
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
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…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025
TikTok briefly faced a nationwide ban after the Biden Administration defended the Supreme Court ruling on the platform.
“[China’s] control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a grave threat to national security,” the justices said.
The US government told the Supreme Court that the app collects a massive amount of information that the Chinese government can use for “espionage and blackmail.”
In response to the brief absence of Tiktok, many Americans expressed their dismay by migrating to alternative Chinese social media apps like RedNote.
This phenomenon led many to search “Learn Mandarin” online, representing a 4,400% increase in online search queries on Google Trends.
Some joined the “Goodbye my Chinese spy” trend, jokingly bidding farewell to the reported Chinese agents who have been spying on them via TikTok.
Later, President-elect Trump surprised disgruntled Americans by announcing that the country will bring the app back.
He posted this message on Truth Social:
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
“The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok [and] keep it in good hands.”