Some 170 million Americans were left this Saturday night (early morning in Spain) without being able to access the popular video social network TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The network was serving its content during the afternoon and suddenly stopped working around an hour and a half before midnight, the deadline provided for in a law passed last year by the United States Congress. The rule, upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, prohibited the application if it did not cease to be under Chinese control, citing national security reasons. TikTok said goodbye with a message expressing hope that Donald Trump would reinstate the app. The president-elect assured this Sunday that he will dictate an extension on Monday and the social network reacted by reactivating its services about 13 hours after the blackout.
The addictive infinite carousel of TikTok videos showed its usual content on Saturday afternoon. Dances, jokes, gruesome events, personal stories and also unfiltered misinformation. About three hours before midnight, the application showed a warning to users under the title “Important update from TikTok,” according to its Spanish version. “We regret to inform you that a law in the United States blocking TikTok will go into effect on January 19 and will force us to temporarily suspend our services. We are working to restore our service in the United States as soon as possible, we appreciate your support, please stay tuned,” the message said.
After 10:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. in mainland Spain), a new notice appeared: “Sorry, TikTok is temporarily unavailable.” It was no longer possible to view the videos. The app reiterated the legal explanation, but this time added: “It is fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
The Apple and Google digital stores removed the application from their catalog. Lemon8, also owned by ByteDance, also stopped working. Content from creators registered in the United States was no longer available, nor to users in other countries. Although it no longer served videos, the application referred to a web page from which you could log in and download personal data held by TikTok. The blackout was not complete. The application kept opening and, on some occasions, a video would sneak in behind the notice. In addition, TikTok continued to function normally after midnight for at least some users registered abroad who connected in the United States with their home numbers, as Morning Express was able to verify.
Then came Donald Trump’s intervention. The president-elect asked companies this Sunday to continue providing services to the social network, breaking the law. “I ask companies not to let TikTok go dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the time period before the law’s prohibitions go into effect, so we can reach an agreement to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped prevent TikTok from going dark before my order,” he wrote on his network, Truth Social.
The law contemplated the possibility of this one-time extension of up to 90 days, but in the event that the sale by the Chinese owner was on track. To do this, according to the letter of the law, the president would have to certify to Congress that a path to carry out the divestment has been identified, that evidence of significant progress towards the execution of said divestment has been presented, and that legal agreements exist. binding to close the operation in the extra period. None of that exists today. Furthermore, the extension was designed with respect to the date on which the ban would have taken effect, and it is also not entirely clear to what extent Trump has the authority to extend the deadline once the veto has begun.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump added in his message. “I would like the United States to have a 50% stake in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to function. Without US approval, there is no Tik ok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps trillions. Therefore, my initial idea is a joint venture between the current owners and/or the new owners in which the United States obtains a 50% participation in a joint venture created between the United States and the buyer of our choice,” he developed. position.
After that message from the president, TikTok announced that it was restoring its activity, although the return was gradual. “According to our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. “We are grateful to President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurances to our service providers that they will not face any penalties,” he said. “It is a firm stance in favor of 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,” he added.
The so-called “Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act” made it illegal as of this Sunday the provision of services by American companies to distribute, maintain or update TikTok, unless the American exploitation of the platform separated from Chinese control.
Joe Biden’s Government, as a matter of time, washed its hands of applying the law. But the fact that it was not going to take any immediate action against potential defaulters was not enough guarantee for the companies on which TikTok depends to continue operating to risk fines of up to $5,000 per user. Trump now promises an order that exempts those fines, although breaking the letter of the law. Furthermore, from its position of strength it will try to make the American partner its ally. Even Musk has been mentioned as a candidate.
United States congressmen approved the law out of fear that China had, through TikTok, access to the data of millions of Americans and a very powerful propaganda tool at its disposal. The Department of Justice, in defending the constitutionality of the law before the Supreme Court, was forceful. “No one disputes that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) seeks to undermine US interests, amassing sensitive data on Americans and engaging in covert and malign influence operations,” he said. “No one can seriously dispute that the PRC’s control over TikTok through ByteDance represents a serious threat to national security,” he added.
According to the brief that Joe Biden’s Government presented to the judges, “TikTok’s collection of a large amount of confidential data on 170 million Americans and their contacts makes it a powerful espionage tool, and TikTok’s role as key communication channel makes it a powerful weapon for covert influence operations.” “As long as TikTok remains under the control of the PRC, it could use these weapons against the United States at any time, for example, at a crucial moment during a crisis,” he argued.
