TikTok Shuts Down Only Briefly After Intervention From Trump
WASHINGTON — Social media giant TikTok shut down for only hours Sunday after losing in a Supreme Court judgment but restored service soon after with help from newly inaugurated President Donald Trump.
Congress wanted the short-form video app to halt service or sell to U.S. buyers by Sunday out of concern its Chinese parent company could tap into users’ data to spy on Americans.
The law Congress approved last year that set the deadline was upheld in a Supreme Court ruling last week.
Trump disagreed. He issued an executive order restoring the service used by 170 million Americans.
“Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it,” Trump said at a political rally Sunday.
Rather than a complete divestiture preferred by Congress, he said he would be satisfied with 50% American ownership. He also said he believed any national security concerns about Chinese influence could be resolved.
“As of today, TikTok is back,” Trump said at what he called his “victory rally.” It was part of a three-day inauguration celebration.
One of Trump’s guests of honor during the inauguration inside the Capitol was TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew.
Trump’s announcement that he would “save” TikTok drew rare opposition from some of his fellow Republicans.
Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said in a joint statement, “Now that the law has taken effect, there is no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date. For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China.”
ByteDance refers to TikTok’s China-based parent company. TikTok officials told congressional investigators that the American affiliate operates independently of ByteDance’s control.
The Supreme Court echoed the skepticism of the majority of Congress in its ruling last week that said, “ByteDance Ltd. is subject to Chinese laws that require it to ‘assist or cooperate’ with the Chinese government’s ‘intelligence work’ and to ensure that the Chinese government has ‘the power to access and control private data’ the company holds.”
Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday about relations between the United States and China. TikTok was one of the issues they discussed.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday saying it was willing to cooperate with Trump in figuring out a way for TikTok to continue its U.S. operations. Trump has suggested a 90-day reprieve on any sale or closure of TikTok while he tries to figure out a way to preserve the service.
“TikTok has operated in the U.S. for many years and is deeply loved by American users,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. “We hope that the U.S. can earnestly listen to the voice of reason and provide an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory business environment for firms operating there.”
Chinese officials said they also were dropping their pledge to block a forced sale of TikTok to Americans.
The possibility of acquiring or merging with TikTok has drawn intense interest from big name U.S. companies and chief executives. Financial analysts estimate the U.S. market could be worth $50 billion.
Unconfirmed media reports indicate interested buyers include former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Trump ally Elon Musk. On Saturday, U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S.
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