U.S. TikTok enthusiasts hope returns as app is restored
On Saturday night, millions of American TikTok users were met with an unexpected notice that their app had been banned and shut down, marking the first time in five years they faced such a disruption.
The ban lasted less than 24 hours, with service being restored on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, announced he would reinstate U.S. access.
However, by the time the app was back online, many users had already started to consider life without it, as TikTok has captivated nearly half of all Americans
As users returned, some expressed their thoughts on the abrupt shutdown by sharing emotional goodbyes or thanking Trump on social media platform X. Others questioned whether the TikTok experience would ever be the same.
“We’re back but at what cost?” one user mused on the platform.
Trump’s action to save TikTok, owned by ByteDance, represents a reversal from his first term in office.
In 2020, he aimed to ban the short-video app over concerns the company could share Americans’ personal info with the Chinese government.
More recently, Trump has said he has “a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” crediting the app with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 election.
TikTok stopped working for U.S. users late on Saturday before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took effect on Sunday.
Trump said he would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Though relieved, some users wonder if such a change to the company’s ownership structure would ultimately alter the TikTok experience.
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