Here’s what’s going on with TikTok
What we know as of Tuesday morning.

Things are changing fast.The Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend proved a tumultuous one – for many reasons, but among them, for the future of TikTok. In the course of just three days, the app disappeared, was resurrected and now has a reprieve – but for how long?
Here’s what happened this weekend – and what you need to know now. All information is correct as of the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 21 – but things are moving fast.
Executive summary
- TikTok can be used in the United States as normal but is unavailable in app stores. The same is true for other ByteDance-owned apps such as CapCut.
- TikTok.com can still be accessed via web browser.
- ByteDance apps have been offered a reprieve by President Donald Trump – but it’s unclear if that’s actually legal.
The ban did go into effect – for about 15 hours
Almost two hours before midnight on the East Coast Saturday, U.S. users trying to access TikTok received a message:
Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.
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 he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!
Users were then unable to scroll or access the app in any way. Other ByteDance-owned apps, including popular editing software CapCut, also were unavailable.
The statement was extraordinary for two reasons. First, it was broadly agreed that the app did not have to cease operation. Rather, the true legal weight of the law fell not on ByteDance, but on the companies who distribute the app, such as Apple and Alphabet through their app stores. Yet the app’s owners decided to give the U.S. a taste of what a TikTok-less world would feel like.
Second, it contained a specific and naked appeal to Donald Trump, the man who was sworn in as president about 36 hours after that message appeared, with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sitting in a place of honor at the inauguration.
Trump had long signaled that despite his initial opposition to the app, based on its ownership by a Chinese company, he wanted to broker a deal with ByteDance. In a Truth Social post Sunday, he indicated it was also in his best interest for the country to have the app: “Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”
Shortly after Trump was sworn in, TikTok began to flicker back to life in the United States, with another message thanking Trump for his efforts in “restoring” the app. For anyone with TikTok downloaded onto their phone, the app is available, seemingly as normal.
Read more: Tactics for a TikTokless world
The executive order
Monday night, the newly inaugurated president signed a number of executive orders, addressing everything from immigration to the legal definition of “man” and “woman.” Among those was an order addressing TikTok, order the attorney general and department of justice to take no enforcement action regarding TikTok for 75 days. The order also said the attorney general would “issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred.”
Trump’s stated hope is to broker a deal that includes 50% American ownership while allowing the Chinese ByteDance to keep a 50% stake as well. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to s(t)ay up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
But there is widespread skepticism – including among Republican members of Congress – about whether or not the president has the power to take this action.
Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican author of the bill, made it clear that there could be no extension without presidential certification of “legally binding documents” that showed the sale of TikTok was in progress.
“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about it,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote on X.
And many tech companies are taking those warnings seriously.
TikTok can’t be downloaded
If you visit either the Apple App Store or the Android Play Store and search for TikTok, you’ll be greeted with a message that the app is not available in the United States. You’ll find similar messages for other ByteDance-owned apps like Lemon8.
Despite Trump’s assurances that companies won’t be held liable, major tech players are wary given the steep penalties: $5,000 per user in the U.S., per day who can access TikTok after the ban date. That’s $850 billion per day – rich even for tech giants.
So at the moment, you can use TikTok. You can post videos, respond to comments and scroll as you always would – and there’s no legal liability to users under the law, only the service providers who keep the service running. But without updates to the app store, this situation will become untenable over time as the app degrades, develops bugs and security features. And, of course, it’s unclear whether or not ByteDance would be willing to sell TikTok with a 50% American stake. Past statements have indicated an unwillingness to part with the lucrative app at all.
What happens now
Lawsuits. Lots and lots of lawsuits. If Trump keeps his word and brokers an acceptable sale, these might never come to fruition. But anticipate not being able to download TikTok in the short term (keep that in mind if you’re getting a new phone!) and be aware the app still could disappear at any time.
We’re in uncharted waters. Stay flexible and stay tuned.
For more on the social media landscape, attend Ragan’s Social Media Conference at Walt Disney World from March 19-21.
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
The rich getting richer, as I wonder who will own the USA portion of tic TOC. Will it be Elon musk or Facebook/meta. We are all being played,who gonna pay the price 😳😳😳
Yeah, you definitely wanna keep Meta out of the equation. If Meta gets a hold of TikTok. It will never be the same. TikTok should just be left alone. Keep it the way it is. 👍