If you’re missing TikTok already, it might not be gone for too long after all.
The popular social media app went dark last night after a law went into effect that effectively banned the app in the United States.
Back in April 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bill that would ban TikTok operations in the United States unless parent company ByteDance sold the app to a US-approved company.

The ban was a result of concerns surrounding ByteDance’s collection and sharing of user information and data with the Chinese government. Critics have called the app a national security threat, and both the federal government and many state governments have banned TikTok on government-issued cell phones.
ByteDance has repeatedly indicated that they have no intention of selling TikTok, and the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion upholding the ban after a lawsuit was filed by TikTok and creators on the app.

But incoming President Donald Trump had asked the Supreme Court to hold off on allowing the law to go into effect, and has expressed his support for saving the popular app that he credited with helping him win the 2024 presidential election.

The Biden administration had signaled that they would not enforce the ban during his final day in office, but their assurances weren’t strong enough for TikTok, which officially took the app offline last night.

Users in the United States trying to access the app were greeted with a pop-up message that said TikTok was hopeful that Trump would act on the ban after his inauguration:

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.

We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.”
And this morning, Trump revealed his plans for the troubled app, announcing that he plans to sign an executive order tomorrow after his inauguration that would extend the period of time for the law to go into effect, and assuring companies that the executive order will protect them from penalties for allowing TikTok to operate before the executive order is issued (so if they bring TikTok back online today, they wouldn’t be fined).

The law passed by Congress allows for a 90-day extension of the deadline if the president believes that a path to divestiture has been identified and progress has been made towards meeting the law’s requirements.
In his statement announcing the executive order, Trump urged companies to bring TikTok back online today, ahead of the inauguration, and outlined his vision for a solution:

“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! 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. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order. Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.

I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.

Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”

Of course it’s not just TikTok that’s worried about penalties for violating the new law. Companies like Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores, and Oracle shut down TikTok’s hosting servers in the United States in order to comply with the ban.
But it sounds like Trump is signaling to these companies that his upcoming executive order will prevent them from being held liable for bringing the app back online during the final day of the Biden administration, and that he intends to act quickly to make that protection official once he’s sworn in tomorrow.
Whether that’s good news or bad news…well, that’s up to you to decide.