TikTok is the social media sensation that all of Silicon Valley — and a lot of Washington, DC — has their eyes on. The app, created by ByteDance, became famous for rocketing musicians and dancers to stardom. But as its popularity and influence have grown, so has scrutiny of its privacy policies, security, and influence, with legislators voicing concern about its ownership by a Chinese firm. Meanwhile, social media competitors are doing everything they can to knock off TikTok’s features and usurp its short-form video dominance.
You can catch the national mood from time to time using the iOS App Store’s top free apps list.
After today’s TikTok chaos, the top 20 apps there are taken up mostly by VPNs and video editing or social media posting apps, with a little ChatGPT and Temu sprinkled in for good measure.
The Arkansas Republican and Intelligence Committee chair is putting companies like Apple, Google, and Oracle on notice that they could face not only Justice Department lawsuits, but action from shareholders and state enforcers for servicing TikTok. The warning flies in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s apparent desire to have TikTok operating on Inauguration Day.
The app is partially back online in the US with a message explicitly thanking President Trump. The chances that all this desperate messaging backfires and he still forces a sale are steadily rising — that’s what Trump is saying, and the rest of the GOP is insistent that the law be enforced.
Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Rickets “called some of the major tech companies in recent days to say they needed to comply with” today’s federal TikTok ban, reports The New York Times.
The article followed a joint statement from the two praising Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for “halting operations with ByteDance and TikTok.” Since then, the app has started coming back online — but is still unavailable in app stores.
[The New York Times]
The memo to advertisers I’ve seen notes that the app is coming online for “the majority of U.S. users” but not all of them:
I am pleased to let you know that as of today, TikTok will become available for the majority of U.S. users. Over the course of Sunday, ad campaigns that include U.S. audiences will resume operating and delivering ads to U.S.-based users, although live campaigns will have certain limitations. Although we’ve reinforced our infrastructure to minimize disruptions, we anticipate some temporary service instability that may affect advertising in the U.S. Thank you for sticking with us. We know how vital TikTok is to your brand and your audiences, and we’re working hard to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
The platform says it’s “in the process of restoring service” but Apple and Google make it clear that it’s not available due to the divest-or-ban law.
Search for TikTok on Google Play, and you’ll see a message saying, “Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements,” while the App Store notes “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in.”
TikTok’s native visionOS app still works, at least for me, after the company cut off access for millions of US users of its smartphone app.
Despite the app continuing to be locked down, TikTok’s website seems to be working for US users, including those of us at The Verge, though at least in my case, it features a banner saying it’s unavailable.
Meanwhile, the app version now features a message saying it’s “temporarily unavailable,” and no longer mentions Trump.
As of 11:45AM ET, the app shows a new — less groveling — pop up when you try to open it: “We’re working hard to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience.”
Compare that to the message the company pushed to users last night as the app went dark: “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!”
Here’s our recap to catch you up on TikTok’s shutdown and how we got here with the ban that no one seemed to want to implement.
And yes, we included some funny (and sad) recent videos here.
The app is set to be shut off in the US at midnight on Saturday after losing its appeal to the Supreme Court. TikTok president Blake Chandlee just sent this to advertisers:
This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we’re working quickly with our legal and policy teams to assess the situation and provide clear, accurate updates for our valued partners. We’re optimistic about finding the best path forward.
Rest assured, we’ll be in touch with more details and next steps ahead of the Sunday, January 19 deadline.
He then links to CEO Shou Chew’s reaction video, which makes clear the company is banking on Trump saving it from a ban.
We don’t know exactly what they discussed, but the US President-elect says it was a “very good” call. Until we hear otherwise from the Supreme Court or President Joe Biden, the TikTok ban is set to take effect on January 19th — one day before Trump’s inauguration. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” says Trump.
[Truth Social]
The Supreme Court’s site has added text saying it “may announce opinions” at 10AM ET tomorrow. I’m going to be furious if we don’t find out the fate of TikTok two days before the scheduled ban. I will also grudgingly respect the top-tier troll effort.
In addition to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook reportedly attending Trump’s inauguration on Monday, it now seems that Google’s Sundar Pichai will be attending as well.
Importantly, TikTok CEO Shou Chew is also expected to sit in a position of honor on the dais alongside former presidents and family members. Trump has vowed to save the app facing a US ban.
[The New York Times]
It would suspend enforcement of the law for 60 to 90 days, extending the timeline for a sale, The Washington Post reports. Trump’s AG pick Pam Bondi also wouldn’t commit to enforcing the TikTok law. But either of those routes wouldn’t eliminate the risk of Apple and Google hosting the app on their app stores after January 19th.
[The Washington Post]
