TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, went offline in the United States shortly before a federal ban took effect on January 19 only for it to return around 12 hours later.
The app proclaimed that "TikTok is back in the U.S.!” through a notification to its users. It attributed its return to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on January 19 that that he would issue an executive order following his inauguration on January 20 to delay enforcement of the law that required ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a ban.
The decision marks the latest installment in a whirlwind of developments involving TikTok’s fate that could also have major repercussions for the global technology competition between China and the United States and set the tone for Trump's dealings with Beijing.
The popular video platform is China’s first global app and has outperformed U.S.-owned rivals such as Instagram, Facebook, and X.
The issue of Chinese ownership is what put TikTok in the crosshairs of the U.S. Congress, which passed a law in April 2024 over national security concerns, including the spread of misinformation and espionage.
TikTok is the international version of ByteDance’s Douyin, which serves markets in Hong Kong and China and adheres to Beijing’s strict censorship apparatus.
While also a successful business, its popularity and influence has been a global boost for Beijing. ByteDance’s unwillingness to divest ownership also shows both the value placed on its proprietary algorithm and on TikTok remaining a Chinese company.
An Overture At Home And Abroad
While Trump’s move to give TikTok a reprieve to find a solution is also influenced by U.S. domestic politics, the incoming president’s decision could also affect his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
After first supporting a ban before coming out against it, Trump also revealed on January 17 that he had spoken to Xi and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
The issues that prompted the ban on TikTok still remain.
Cybersecurity firms have suggested that the app can collect user data beyond what content they view on TikTok, and China enacted a law in 2017 that compels Chinese nationals living abroad to cooperate with its intelligence apparatus.
Public examples of this are few, but in 2023, a British journalist had her data and location tracked by TikTok employees in China and the United States. U.S. court filings from a former ByteDance employee also outlined how the Chinese Communist Party accessed company data to spy on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2018.
Now Trump's decision offers an early bellwether for how he will handle relations with China.
Trump's last presidential term from 2017 to 2021 was characterized by his tough line on China and the targeting of Chinese companies at home and abroad against the backdrop of a deepening technology race between Beijing and Washington.
That competition hasn’t gone away, but Trump -- at least in the early days of his incoming presidency -- appears to be looking to strike a different tone.
The Wall Street Journal reported on January 18 that Trump wants to visit Xi in China in his first 100 days after taking office and has expressed an openness to negotiations with the Chinese leader on a range of issues.
