Trump to revive TikTok, but wants 50% US ownership

Trump said helium would “extend the play of clip earlier the law’s prohibitions instrumentality effect, truthful that we tin marque a woody to support our nationalist security.”

“I would similar the United States to person a 50% ownership presumption successful a associated venture. By doing this, we prevention TikTok, support it successful bully hands and let it to accidental up,” helium wrote connected Truth Social. Trump said the enforcement bid would specify determination would beryllium nary liability for immoderate institution that helped support TikTok from going acheronian earlier his order.

Trump had earlier said helium would astir apt give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban aft helium takes office, a committedness TikTok cited successful a announcement posted to users connected the app. “A instrumentality banning TikTok has been enacted successful the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t usage TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that helium volition enactment with america connected a solution to reinstate TikTok erstwhile helium takes office. Please enactment tuned,” a connection notified users of TikTok, which disappeared from Apple and Google app stores precocious connected Saturday.

Even if temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok is acceptable to person a wide-ranging interaction connected US-China relations, US politics, the societal media marketplace and millions of Americans who beryllium connected the app economically and culturally.

The US has ne'er banned a large societal media platform. The instrumentality passed overwhelmingly by Congress gives the incoming Trump medication sweeping authorization to prohibition oregon question the merchantability of different Chinese-owned apps. Other apps owned by ByteDance, including video editing app CapCut and manner societal app Lemon8, were besides offline and unavailable successful US app stores arsenic of precocious Saturday.

It was not wide if immoderate US users could inactive entree the app, but it was nary longer moving for galore users, and radical seeking to entree it done a web exertion were met with the aforesaid connection that TikTok was nary longer working.

Move to alternatives

Under the instrumentality passed past twelvemonth and upheld connected Friday by a unanimous US Supreme Court, the level had until Sunday to chopped ties with its China-based genitor oregon unopen down its US cognition to resoluteness concerns it poses a menace to nationalist security.

The Chinese Embassy successful Washington connected Friday accused the US of utilizing unfair authorities powerfulness to suppress TikTok. “China volition instrumentality each indispensable measures to resolutely safeguard its morganatic rights and interests,” a spokesperson said.

Uncertainty implicit the app’s aboriginal had sent users – mostly younger radical – scrambling to alternatives including China-based RedNote. Rivals Meta and Snap person seen their stock prices emergence this period up of the ban, arsenic investors stake connected an influx of users and advertizing dollars.

“This is my caller location now,” wrote a idiosyncratic successful a RedNote post, tagged with the words “tiktokrefugee” and “sad”.
Minutes aft TikTok’s US shutdown, different users took to X, formerly called Twitter. “I didn’t truly deliberation that they would chopped disconnected TikTok. Now I’m bittersweet and I miss the friends I made there. Hoping it each comes backmost successful conscionable a fewer days,” wrote @RavenclawJedi.

‘Hair connected fire’ moment

NordVPN, a fashionable virtual backstage network, oregon VPN, allowing users to entree the net from servers astir the world, said it was “experiencing impermanent method difficulties.”

Web searches for “VPN” spiked successful the minutes aft US users mislaid entree to TikTok, according to Google Trends.
Users connected Instagram fretted astir whether they would inactive person merchandise they had bought connected TikTok Shop, the video platform’s e-commerce arm.

Marketing firms reliant connected TikTok person rushed to hole contingency plans successful what 1 enforcement described arsenic a “hair connected fire” infinitesimal aft months of accepted contented saying that a solution would materialize to support the app running.

There person been signs TikTok could marque a comeback nether Trump, who has said helium wants to prosecute a “political resolution” of the contented and past period urged the Supreme Court to intermission implementation of the ban. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to be the US statesmanlike inauguration and be a rally with Trump connected Sunday, a root told Reuters.

Suitors including erstwhile Los Angeles Dodgers proprietor Frank McCourt person expressed involvement successful the fast-growing concern that analysts estimation could beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $50 billion. Media reports accidental Beijing has besides held talks astir selling TikTok’s US operations to billionaire and Trump state Elon Musk, though the institution has denied that.

US hunt motor startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid connected Saturday to ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok US, a root acquainted with the company’s plans told Reuters. Perplexity would merge with TikTok US and make a caller entity by combining the merged institution with different partners, the idiosyncratic added.

Privately held ByteDance is astir 60% owned by organization investors specified arsenic BlackRock and General Atlantic, portion its founders and employees ain 20% each. It has much than 7,000 employees successful the US.