Investing.com– TikTok began restoring U.S. services on Sunday just hours after going dark on account of a Supreme Court-backed ban, as President-elect Donald Trump promised to give the social media more time to find a U.S. buyer.
Users were initially unable to access TikTok on Sunday, as the app complied with a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban approved by Congress.
But users attempting to log in later in the day were able to access the app, with a message thanking them, and Trump, for their support. Still, the app remained inaccessible on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google’s app stores.
Trump promised to issue an executive order when he takes office on Monday that will allow TikTok more time to find a U.S. buyer, keeping the app online in the interim. Trump called for a joint venture that would keep at least 50% of TikTok’s ownership in U.S. hands.
Congress had voted to ban TikTok on concerns that its parent company, ByteDance, was collecting user data and potentially compromising national security.
Recent reports said Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO and Trump confidant Elon Musk could be a potential suitor for the social media platform, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) speculated that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) could also buy the app.
Other reports showed an entrepreneur group led by Jesse Tinsley and potentially including social media star Mr. Beast was submitting an offer for the app.
TikTok ban would have benefited US competitors
Analysts said that a U.S. ban on TikTok was likely to benefit other social media platforms in the country.
Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) said in a note dated last week that rivals such as Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), META (NASDAQ:META), Google and Reddit Inc (NYSE:RDDT) stood to benefit greatly from users leaving TikTok and moving on to other platforms offering similar services.
TikTok’s short video format was a major disruptor in the social media space, causing competitors such as Instagram and YouTube to offer similar formats on their platforms.
Analysts were largely skeptical of whether TikTok would be banned, given that public opinion was largely against such a move. Outgoing President Joe Biden was also seen largely changing his stance on a ban.