US President Joe Biden tries to lift Democrats' spirits on last full day in office

Jan 20, 2025

Washington, DC (ANI): Amid the chaos over TikTok in the United States, TikTok said on January 19 that it was restoring its service after President-elect Donald Trump promised to revive the app's access in the US when he returns to power on January 20. The statement came after US users reported being able to access the Chinese-owned service's website while the far more widely used TikTok app itself did not appear to be immediately available. Taking to X, TikTok said, “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for 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.” TikTok went dark and stopped working for its 170 million American users late on January 18 before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took effect. The United States officials warned that under the Chinese parent company ByteDance, Americans' data could be misused. President-Elect Donald Trump said he’ll allow the Chinese firm TikTok to be operational in the United States. He further stated that he would like the “US to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture”. Notably, Donald Trump recently held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and also discussed TikTok. Along with TikTok, other ByteDance apps like Capcut and Lemon8 were also offline, unavailable in US app stores by late Jan 18. It is noteworthy that President Biden had passed the baton to the ‘next president’ Trump to decide on the fate of TikTok in United States.