Donald Trump has confirmed that he will resurrect TikTok when he takes office on Monday, after the app went dark for American users on Saturday night.On Saturday, Trump told NBC News that he would “most likely” suspend a ban on TikTok for 90 days, pushing back a deadline for a US-based company to purchase the social media app to coincide with Trump’s return to the White House – and his inauguration events.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” he said on social media.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said he would issue an executive order to extend the time before the prohibition on TikTok, and declared this would be a deal to “protect national security” – as well as a financial opportunity.
Trump’s full post on Truth Social
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order. Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations. I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions. Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”
It has long been a point of frustration for Trump and his associates that there have been no financial benefits from the Chinese-owned app, which is phenomenally successful in the US.
TikTok has been popular with influencers but also with small business owners who have been able to monetise their social media following in a way that has not been possible, or as lucrative, on other apps.
TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, told users attempting to use the app around 10:45 p.m. ET (0345 GMT): “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.”
What could US TikTok ban mean for UK users?
TikTok “went dark” in America on Sunday after the company lost a last-ditch ditch effort to have the ban declared unconstituational on free speach grounds by the Supreme Court. President Joe Biden has already ordered TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance by 19 January.
Legislation ordering the ban – which was first thought up under Donald Trump’s first presidential administration – was passed by Congress last spring with an overwhelming majority, with lawmakers on both sides citing national security concerns.
Chinese law requires organisations based in the country to cooperate with the communist party’s intelligence gathering, leading security chiefs in the US to warn that Tiktok could be used as a vehicle to spy on its 170 million American users.
Will the UK follow their security ally’s lead? What could a TikTok ban in the US mean for users in the UK?
Will the UK ban TikTok?
The UK Government said there were currently “no plans” to introduce a TikTok ban.
A UK Government spokesperson said on Saturday: “This is a matter for the US government. There are no plans to introduce a TikTok ban in the UK.
“We engage with all major social media companies to understand their plans for ensuring the security of UK data and to ensure they meet the high data protection and cyber security standards we expect.”
TikTok, however, is already banned on government devices due to cybersecurity concerns, signalling that the UK Government shares at least some of the same concerns as the US.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer may be swayed to follow Trump’s more hawkish instincts when it comes to his policy on China, much as the UK reportedly did in 2020 when it banned Chinese technology giant Huawei from the country’s 5G network.
At the time, British officials privately told Huawei that the ban was being imposed partly for “geopolitical” reasons following huge pressure from Trump, according to the Observer.
Starmer has gone to great lengths to get his relationship with Trump off to a good start, going for dinner with the president-elect in Trump Tower in New York last September.
On Saturday he told the Financial Times: “What matters to me is my relationship with the US and my relationship with president-elect Trump.”
Trump, however, has hinted he may not enforce the TikTok ban, saying on Saturday that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve once he is sworn in.
Tiktok’s CEO Shou Chew was invited, and is expected to attend, the president-elect’s inauguration on Monday.
How will the US ban affect UK creators?
Most TikTok influencers earn money from brand partnerships, with rates generally tied to engagement and viewership numbers.
If millions of American users stop using Tiktok that could have serious financial consequences for British content creators.
A TikTok video posted by UK-based content creators the Gilbert Twins featured the text: “Me calculating how many followers I’m going to lose when TikTok is banned in the US.”
“So if all of our American followers are gone, how many followers do we have left? We’ve got around 2.1 million followers on TikTok… so we would lose around 500,000 followers. Which is significant,” Carine Gilbert told the Times.
Another British creator Keith Afadi told the newspaper: “I know people who’ve just quit their jobs [to become creators] and then this is about to happen. And now they might need to go back and look at another job. And I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about that myself.”
“You do hear the panic and I think maybe that’s why I’m choosing to remain quite calm. Because I guess panic begets panic,” he added.
The effect on UK e-commerce
The biggest impact could be felt by British businesses on TikTok Shop, the platform’s growing e-commerce branch.
The firm has already said it was handling last-minute returns and payments to creators, in preparation for the app’s shutdown.
Emily Gallant, founder of mobile retailer eFones said half of its business was done on Tiktok, adding that the company had started selling in America but has suspended that now.
“We have decided to put our expansion plans there on hold,” Gallant said.
Chris Dawson, editor-in-chief of the e-commerce news site ChannelX, said: “While Instagram and YouTube are lining up waiting for TikTok to go dark, the reality is that neither platform can replace TikTok Shop nor the TikTok affiliate network.”
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