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TikTok restores service for US users based on Trump's promised executive order

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TikTok restores service for US users based on Trump's promised executive order
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TikTok restores service for US users based on Trump's promised executive order

2025-01-20 08:56 Last Updated At:09:01

TikTok restored service to users in the United States on Sunday just hours after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban, which President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office.

Trump said he planned to issue the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the ban takes full effect. He announced the move on his Truth Social account as millions of U.S. TikTok users awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.

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The logo for TikTok is displayed on a mobile phone, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The logo for TikTok is displayed on a mobile phone, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - President Donald Trump talks to reporters while in flight from Billings, Mont., to Fargo, N.D., Sept. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump talks to reporters while in flight from Billings, Mont., to Fargo, N.D., Sept. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

This screenshot from a cell phone displays a message from the TikTok app reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in San Bruno, Calif. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mullen)

This screenshot from a cell phone displays a message from the TikTok app reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in San Bruno, Calif. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mullen)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

A TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

But by Sunday afternoon, a message greeted those who signed on thanking them — and the president-elect — for their support.

“As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” the message read.

TikTok said it shut down the platform late Saturday because of a federal law that required parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation by Sunday. Google and Apple also removed TikTok from their digital stores. The law, which passed with wide bipartisan support in April, allows for steep fines.

While the company that runs TikTok in the U.S. said on X that the steps Trump outlined Sunday provided “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties," the TikTok app remained remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google’s app stores.

“It was a brilliant marketing stunt for both TikTok and incoming president Donald Trump," Jasmine Enberg, an analyst with market research firm Emarketer, said. “By abruptly shutting off service, TikTok proved how unpopular the ban was among its users."

The law that took effect Sunday required ByteDance to cut ties with the platform’s U.S. operations due to national security concerns. However, the statute authorized the sitting president to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale was underway.

Although investors made some offers, ByteDance has said it would not sell. Trump said his order would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”

It wasn't immediately clear how Trump's promised action would fare from a legal standpoint since the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the ban on Friday and the statute came into force the day before Trump's return to the White House. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin and the bill's author, said on Fox News Sunday that “there is no extension” for TikTok.

“Let me tell you, as the person who wrote the bill, the extension was within the 270-day window, which closed at 12:01 a.m. this morning,” he said, adding that only if the president certifies there are “legally binding documents” showing a divestiture is on the way would there be an extension.

“I think Trump can at least make an argument that the language is meant to cover any president,” University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said.

Some lawmakers who voted for the sale-or-ban law, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans, remain in favor of it. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas warned companies Sunday not to provide TikTok with technical support.

“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,” Cotton wrote on X. “Think about it.”

Constitutional and business law attorney Kirk McGill said he thinks Trump lacks the legal authority to suspend the ban but it’s unlikely the question would reach a court in the time it might take TikTok to find a buyer.

It’s also unlikely that Apple or Google will face legal consequences if they move forward with Trump’s demands, given that his administration would have to initiate any prosecutions, McGill said.

“In the next week or two, before the courts have the chance to do anything, this is certainly going to be a political fight, not a legal one,” McGill said.

The on-and-off availability of TikTok came after the Supreme Court ruled that the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China outweighed concerns about limiting speech by the app or its millions of U.S. users.

When TikTok users in the U.S. tried to watch or post videos on the platform as of Saturday night, they saw a pop-up message under the headline, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

The app was removed late Saturday from prominent app stores and remained so as of Sunday afternoon. Apple told customers it also took down other apps developed by ByteDance. They included Lemon8, which some influencers had promoted as a TikTok alternative, the popular video editing app CapCut and photo editor Hypic.

“Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” the company said.

Google declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the day's developments.

Experts had said the law as written did not require TikTok to take down its platform, only for app stores to remove it. Current users expected to continue to have access to videos until a lack of updates caused the app to stop working.

After TikTok was back online Sunday, content creator Tiffany Watson, 20, said she was “pretty hopeful” it would stay up. At the same time, Watson said her dedication “solely” to the platform declined during the months the threat of a ban loomed.

“Overall, I hope that creators will succeed and find community in spite of the unpredictability of TikTok," she said.

Trump's plan to spare TikTok on his first day in office reflected the ban's coincidental timing and the unusual mix of political considerations surrounding a social media platform that first gained popularity with often silly videos featuring dances and music clips.

During his first presidential term, Trump in 2020 issued executive orders banning dealings with ByteDance and the owners of the Chinese messaging app WeChat, moves that courts subsequently blocked.

Trump has since credited TikTok with helping him win support from young voters in last year's presidential election. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.

Trump's choice for national security adviser, Michael Waltz, told CBS News on Sunday that the president-elect discussed TikTok during a weekend call with Chinese President Xi Jinping “and they agreed to work together on this.”

The Biden administration has also stressed in recent days that it did not intend to implement or enforce the ban before Trump takes office on Monday.

ByteDance has publicly insisted it would not sell TikTok, and no likely buyer has emerged.

On Saturday, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok's U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Perplexity is not asking to purchase the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok user’s videos based on their interests.

In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials have long warned that the algorithm is vulnerable to manipulation by China. To date, the U.S. has not publicly provided evidence of TikTok providing user data to Chinese authorities or tinkering with the algorithm to benefit Chinese interests.

Another unknown is whether Trump will remain a TikTok fan.

“He’s flip-flopped on his stance toward TikTok before, and there’s no guarantee he won’t do so again,” EMarketer's Enberg said.

Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta, Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, and Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, contributed to this story.

The logo for TikTok is displayed on a mobile phone, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The logo for TikTok is displayed on a mobile phone, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - President Donald Trump talks to reporters while in flight from Billings, Mont., to Fargo, N.D., Sept. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump talks to reporters while in flight from Billings, Mont., to Fargo, N.D., Sept. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

This screenshot from a cell phone displays a message from the TikTok app reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in San Bruno, Calif. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mullen)

This screenshot from a cell phone displays a message from the TikTok app reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in San Bruno, Calif. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mullen)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

A message reading "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now" is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

A TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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Freezing hikers stuck in waist-deep snow rescued during Mount Washington whiteout

2025-02-06 22:18 Last Updated At:22:21

The two friends had hiked New Hampshire's challenging Mount Washington trail a month ago. They returned and did it again Sunday after trekking through neighboring peaks in the White Mountains. Both veteran hikers, the women were an hour behind schedule on their descent and losing daylight, but they had warm clothing, headlamps and other gear.

Then the wind kicked in. The temperature dropped. They were in waist-deep snow and whiteout conditions. They were lost on the tallest mountain in the Northeast, known for its extreme, changeable weather.

“That snow has nothing to stick to,” said Amy Cotter, a weather observer and education specialist with the Mount Washington Observatory at the peak at 6,288 feet (1,916 meters). “That snow gets whipped up very easily.”

One of Kathyrn McKee's snowshoes became stuck in a “spruce trap,” a hole created in the snow underneath trees.

“It took like 20 minutes to get out of that,” she recalled in an interview with The Associated Press. “And that kept happening. And so we got to a point where we were literally, like crawling on our bellies to try to get to the next point and just struggling so much that it wasn't working.”

After about an hour of trying to rescue themselves, McKee, 51, of Southborough, Massachusetts, and Beata LeLacheur, 54, of Westborough, Massachusetts, called 911. They reached New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers, who plotted their GPS coordinates and directed them toward the trail — just 34 feet (10 meters) away.

It didn't work.

“They ended up on the trail several times but could not follow it as it had been completely erased by wind and snow,” said Sgt. Matthew Holmes of the Fish and Game Department. After multiple attempts trying to locate the trail and several phone calls starting around 6 p.m., “the two needed to huddle up in the snow to keep warm and await assistance,” he said.

The temperature at the summit was 2 degrees below zero (minus 19 Celsius), with sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph (80 to 96 kph) at the time, Holmes said.

McKee and LeLacheur were stuck at an elevation of about 5,000 feet (1,524 meters).

McKee said she was wearing gloves with liners, but still lost the use of her hands due to the cold.

“I went into my first aid kid to grab the emergency blanket and extra hand warmers,” she said. “I couldn't open the chest because my hands were frozen."

The two sat there with the wind blowing on them for about six hours.

“I was terrified that my friend may pass away in front of me and, you know, or I might pass away, “ McKee said. ”And how did we get here? So, you do think about that, but you can't stay in that thought process because that's not going to get you out. So we just kept focusing on what is the next thing we can do.”

McKee said they grabbed a bag and used it as a wind guard. She was wrapped in a covering used over sleeping mats and bags.

“I was buried in snow at that point, so it was basically an insulator. So that kind of helped. But it also meant that I was immobile, I wasn't really moving," she said.

By late Sunday, the Mount Washington State Park snowcat, a ski resort groomer-type vehicle, started up the mountain’s auto road with nine rescuers and arrived at the summit just before midnight. Crews snowshoed their way through the wind-blown snow toward the trail. They approached the hikers' last known location at 1:20 a.m. Monday, but had not yet made contact.

“The only way to locate the trail was through GPS navigation, and the going was slow due to the tremendous effort required to break trail in the deep snow,” Holmes said.

McKee and LeLacheur were found a half-hour later. They had suffered frostbite, mostly to their hands.

Crews set up emergency shelters for them, and by 3 a.m. Monday, they were able to move on their own. By 4:15 a.m., the rescuers and hikers trekked down to the base station of the Cog Railway, a locomotive-led train that climbs to the mountain peak.

Holmes said both women were prepared for a winter hike, had emergency gear and had winter hiking experience. But they didn't expect they would lose the trail. McKee and LeLacheur had received training on hikes from the Appalachian Mountain Club's chapter in Worcester, Massachusetts.

“We feel really awful about having to make that (911) call, but it did save our lives, and we're eternally grateful,” McKee said of their rescuers.

Both said they'd go out hiking again in the White Mountains and add a small pop-up tent to their gear in case they need to seek shelter.

“You either get back on the horse, or you don't,” McKee said. “I'm not going to have a problem to get back on the horse. I'm going to do it as safe as I can. But I recognize there are risks in what we do.”

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows rescue hikers along the cog railway during a rescue mission, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows rescue hikers along the cog railway during a rescue mission, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows rescue hikers leaving on foot from the summit, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows rescue hikers leaving on foot from the summit, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows a snow cat heading out on a rescue mission, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

This image provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department shows a snow cat heading out on a rescue mission, on Mount Washington, N.H., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (New Hampshire Fish and Game Department photo via AP)

FILE - The summit of New Hampshire's Mount Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - The summit of New Hampshire's Mount Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

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