The video platform TikTok announced on Sunday afternoon that its service will be available again in the United States after a temporary blockage since Saturday night and Donald Trump’s announcement that once he assumes the presidency this Monday, he will postpone the ban that was set to take effect on January 19.
The news was delivered by the company in a statement where it says that "according to our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring the service" and added that "we thank President Trump for providing the clarity and assurances necessary to our service providers, ensuring that they will not face sanctions for offering TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive".
In the statement, they also said that "it is a firm position in favor of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States."
What guarantees did Donald Trump give to TikTok?
On Sunday morning, Donald Trump said that he plans to issue an executive order that will give TikTok's parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent ban.
Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account, while millions of TikTok users in the United States woke up to discover that they could no longer access the app.
Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with a federal law that required them to do so if the Chinese-based parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, did not sell its US operations to an approved buyer by Sunday.
Trump said that his order "will extend the period of time before the law's bans take effect" and "will confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok active before my order.
The law grants the acting president the authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is in progress. Although investors made some offers, ByteDance had previously stated that it would not sell.
In his post, Trump stated that "I would like for the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture," but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the government or to an American company.
"By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to continue operating," Trump wrote. "Without the approval of the United States, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe trillions," he added.
The Biden administration emphasized in recent days that they had no intention of implementing or enforcing the national ban before Trump took office on Monday.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump's inauguration with a privileged spot.
Chew posted a video late on Saturday thanking Trump for his commitment to work with the company to keep the app available in the United States and for "a strong defense of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship."