Less than 12 hours after going offline, TikTok is back online in the United States, thanks to intervention by President-elect Donald Trump. The social media giant announced its return with a notification to users:
“Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
TikTok’s brief shutdown occurred late Saturday night, just two hours before a ban was scheduled to take effect. During the outage, users encountered a message stating that TikTok was unavailable due to a newly enacted law banning the app. Despite the blackout, TikTok remained optimistic, assuring users that efforts were underway to resolve the issue swiftly.
President-elect Trump indicated he would likely delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days after taking office. This statement, coupled with quick action, resulted in the app’s prompt reinstatement. However, questions remain about the long-term future of TikTok in the US, as the app’s Chinese roots continue to fuel political concerns.
Meanwhile, other platforms have been positioning themselves as potential TikTok alternatives. Chinese apps like RedNote (Xiaohongshu), which resembles Instagram, and Lemon8, a Pinterest-like platform developed by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, have attracted new users. However, these platforms could face similar scrutiny in the US.
American platforms are also stepping up. Clapper, a short-form video app, gained 1.4 million new users this month, while Flip, another video-focused platform, saw a surge in downloads. Beauty-focused social commerce app Orme has actively courted TikTok users, describing itself as a dedicated US-based alternative for short-form video.
“Social selling is a vital marketing strategy for beauty brands, which must now explore new ways to diversify in preparation for sudden shifts in the social commerce landscape,” said Faisal Ahmed, CEO of Orme.
