TikTok Is Back (For Now)

Political theater is vertical format now. After 14-ish hours dark on U.S. soil, TikTok is back (?) for now (???) thanks to Trump (????). The Supreme Court upheld the app’s ban on Friday, but the Biden White House said they’d leave enforcement of the ruling up to the new guy. The app was taken off the U.S. Google and Apple app stores Saturday night. Users watched their feeds go dark one-by-one like lights on the Titanic, with “Nearer My God to Thee” a trending sound. Then Sunday morning, Trump effectively reversed the ban via Truth Social statement. “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,” he wrote. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

TikTok then released their own statement on Twitter. “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 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” they wrote. “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

Users weren’t entirely sanguine about these new developments — with people questioning the chumminess with Trump and what that means for censorship within the app, what backroom deals did or did not happen between Byte Dance and other big tech companies like Meta, and potential “enshittification” of the app.

Worried TikTok is a “Pet Sematary” situation where it died and came back but now it’s evil

— Maybe: Brendan Bergen (@carpetislava) January 19, 2025

According to NPR, Apple and Google still have yet to re-add TikTok to their app stores, so new users can’t join just yet. Software updates also can’t happen, and in-app purchases are severely hobbled. So don’t delete Red Note just yet.

• [NPR]

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• Trump Hints 90-Day Extension for TikTok Will ‘Most Likely’ Happen