
Supporters of President Donald Trump are celebrating after his announcement that TikTok would be reinstated in the US, just hours after the app was pulled from service. The popular video-sharing platform had gone dark late Saturday night, with its removal from app stores and access blocked for millions of users.
Speaking at a rally on Sunday, Trump assured the crowd that TikTok would remain available. “As of today, TikTok is back,” he told thousands of supporters. The announcement was met with cheers from those gathered at the pre-inauguration event.
Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social that he planned to issue an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law that required TikTok’s removal. He indicated that his order would protect national security while preventing any legal consequences for companies that continued to support the platform.
TikTok, in response to Trump’s assurances, began gradually restoring access to users throughout the day. The company released a statement thanking Trump for his intervention, stating that his leadership provided “clarity and assurance” to its service providers.
However, some Republican lawmakers have pushed back against Trump’s decision. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the law should still be implemented as intended, while Sens. Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts emphasized that a full divestiture from ByteDance is necessary for the platform to legally continue operating in the US.
Although TikTok is now accessible, it remains unavailable for new downloads on major app stores. The law signed by President Joe Biden in April required ByteDance to sell TikTok or face an outright ban, a measure recently upheld by the Supreme Court.