TikTok went down, then Donald Trump lifted it up

What a wild ride of a week it has been. This week's trending issue has been the TikTok ban in the United States. Some users were so concerned about the imminent ban that they set up camp on Rednote, a Chinese social media app. TikTok rejected claims earlier this week that it planned to sell its US assets to Elon Musk and revised its shutdown statement today to include a reference to Donald Trump.

Still on the subject of TikTok and Trump, TikTok has issued a statement assuring users that service restoration is proceeding. Here is a statement from @TikTokPolicy on X:

STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:

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 for 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.

Let's not forget that the Trump administration launched the entire "let's ban TikTok because of national security" campaign in 2020. Trump appears to have changed his stance on the issue. In a message released on Truth Social (Trump's own social media app that he created after being banned from Twitter), he stated that TikTok would not exist without US clearance.

He also stated that he would issue an executive order on Monday to "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect" so that a compromise could be reached to safeguard national security.

Trump proposes a joint venture between TikTok's current and future owners, with the United States receiving 50% ownership.