By FR Staff January 18, 2025

What we know:

1. The Short-video app TikTok stopped working for U.S. Users on Sunday, apparently due to a Donald Trump administration order banning transactions with its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
2. The ban, which also applies to Tencent Music Entertainment and messaging app WeChat, takes effect on September 20 and is part of an effort by the U.S. Government to address what it calls national security issues.
3. President Trump, in a tweet late on Saturday, said he would sign a new law saving popular video app TikTok from a looming ban in the United States, but provided no details.
4. ByteDance has been in talks with potential buyers for its TikTok operations, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.N).
5. TikTok has around 100 million monthly active users in the United States and elsewhere in the Americas, according to its website.
6. A Trump administration executive order issued on August 6 banning U.S. Transactions with ByteDance gave Americans 120 days to discontinue transactions with the company.
7. The order cited concerns that TikTok could be used by China to collect data on Americans, allegations denied by the app.
8. TikTok has repeatedly said it would not share user data with Chinese authorities and that it stores U.S. Data with a third-party service provider in the United States.