The short video app used by 170 million Americans was taken offline temporarily on 19 January. Photo: AFP
TikTok spent a mere 12 hours in the dark before new convert Donald Trump gave it a reprieve. But the saga of the Chinese-owned app isn't over.
It proved a 12-hour wonder.
After much fanfare and shedding of content creator tears, TikTok was switched off in America after the US Supreme Court upheld a law that banned the Chinese-owned social media platform, after its owner failed to find a neutral buyer.
But after assuming power, President Donald Trump immediately signed an executive order giving owner ByteDance a 75-day extension to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, effectively delaying the nationwide ban of the app.
And just like that, TikTok was back. After 12 hours in the dark, 170 million American users switched on and celebrated.
US lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum had voted to ban the video-sharing app last year, over concerns about its links to the Chinese government.
TikTok has repeatedly insisted it does not share information with Beijing, and argues the law violates free speech protections for American users.
But New Zealand futurist and chief executive of Gorilla Technology, Paul Spain, told The Detail there is benefit in a ban.
"Coming in with a sledgehammer to ban these things is unusual but I am probably leaning in the direction that maybe this is one of those cases where there would be a benefit in a ban."
He's not on TikTok himself, saying it's not a platform he's particularly fond of.
"As an authoritarian regime, the Chinese government has a lot of control, and we hear a lot of news - it's often hard to verify - but stories about cyber-attacks and data being stolen that are often referred to as 'state sponsored attacks' from China.
"And so, where you have got a social network which is able to collect a huge amount of data, you probably want to be able to have a reasonable level of control and trust over what happens with that data.
"At American government level, they just don't have that sort of comfort around a social network operating out of China. And of course, there have been past issues where certain things have been proven that were inappropriate in terms of how TikTok has operated and not kept data as secure and safe as it should be."
The ban could impact Kiwi content creators, who could lose traffic if advertisers pull away.
But there is a glimmer of hope for users, with YouTube and TikTok star Mr Beast among several wealthy figures who want to buy the app.
"TikTok, I'm on a private jet right now about to put in my official offer for this platform," Mr Beast - a.k.a Jimmy Donaldson - said in a social media video. "I might become your guys' new CEO."
He is one of a handful of people who have said they are interested in acquiring the app and is pulling together co-investors to produce the funds.
President Trump says Elon Musk or Oracle chair Larry Ellison could also be interested in buying TikTok. The app's US operations have been valued at up to NZ$88 billion if ByteDance does sell.
The app was banned from New Zealand Parliamentary devices in 2023, but the government has no plans yet to impose a nationwide TikTok ban.
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