'Back in US': TikTok Thanks Trump Over 'Clarity & Assurance' as it Restores Service

Washington: Just Hours after TikTok went offline in the United States, the popular Chinese short-video app resumed its services, thanking US President-elect Donald Trump for ‘providing the necessary clarity and assurance.’ TikTok in an official statement confirmed that it is in the process of fully restoring its operations across the country.  

In a statement, TikTok expressed gratitude for the support and cooperation, saying the assurance from the incoming administration has enabled them to resume services for millions of users in the US. The app, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, had earlier gone dark after failing to meet the conditions of a federal law requiring divestment of its US operations.  

This development comes after trump said that he planned to give TikTok's China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the ban takes full effect. He announced the move on his Truth Social account as millions of US TikTok users awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.

In a post on X on Sunday, TikTok stated, "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."

"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," the post added.

“As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” the message read. 

TikTok said it shut down the platform late Saturday because of a federal law that required parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation by Sunday. Google and Apple also removed TikTok from their digital stores. The law, which passed with wide bipartisan support in April, allows for steep fines.

While the company that runs TikTok in the U.S. said on X that the steps Trump outlined Sunday provided “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties," the TikTok app remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google’s app stores.

(With Agencies Inputs)