*

Trump says he will issue executive order Monday expanding

time

before TikTok law takes effect

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Trump says he wants 50% American ownership

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Two Republican senators oppose TikTok's temporary reprieve

(Updates Jan 19 story to add Chinese foreign ministry Jan 20

comment in paragraphs 7, 8.)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - TikTok began restoring

its services on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump said

he would revive the app's access in the U.S. when he returns to

power on Monday.

"Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it," Trump said

at a rally on Sunday ahead of his inauguration, adding that the

U.S. will seek a joint venture to restore the short-video

sharing app used by 170 million Americans.

In a message to users hours before the rally, TikTok said:

"As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the

U.S."

TikTok issued an earlier statement after U.S. users reported

being able to access the Chinese-owned service's website while

the far more widely used TikTok app itself began coming back

online for some users with just a few basic services. Late on

Sunday, the app was unavailable for download on U.S. app stores.

"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the

process of restoring service," TikTok said in the earlier

statement that also thanked Trump for "providing the necessary

clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will

face no penalties (for) providing TikTok to over 170 million

Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to

thrive."

TikTok's public thanks to Trump, the day before he takes

office, comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China relations. Trump

has said he intends to place tariffs on China but has also

indicated he hopes to have more direct contact with China's

leader.

When asked about the app's restoration and Trump's desire

for a deal, China's foreign ministry told a regular news

briefing on Monday that it believed companies should "decide

independently" about their operations and deals.

"TikTok has operated in the U.S. for many years and is

deeply loved by American users," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

said. "We hope that the U.S. can earnestly listen to the voice

of reason and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory

business environment for firms operating there."

TikTok stopped working for U.S. users late on Saturday

before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took

effect on Sunday. U.S. officials had said that under Chinese

parent company ByteDance, there was a risk of Americans' data

being misused.

Trump said he would "extend the period of time before the

law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to

protect our national security."

"I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership

position in a joint venture," he wrote on his Truth Social

platform.

Trump said the executive order would specify there would be

no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going

dark before his order.

Trump had earlier said he would most likely give TikTok a

90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office, a promise

TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app.

"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 that he will work

with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.

Please stay tuned," a message notified users of TikTok, which

disappeared from Apple ( AAPL ) and Google app stores late on

Saturday.

Trump saving TikTok represents a reversal in stance from his

first term in office. In 2020, he aimed to ban the app over

concerns the company was sharing Americans' personal info with

the Chinese government. More recently, Trump has said he has "a

warm spot in my heart for TikTok," crediting the app with

helping him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential

election.

In August 2020, Trump signed an executive order giving

ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok but then blessed a deal

structured as a partnership rather than a divestment that would

have included both Oracle and Walmart ( WMT ) taking

stakes in the new company.

Not everyone in Trump's Republican Party agreed with efforts

to get around the law and "Save TikTok".

Republican senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts said in a

joint statement: "Now that the law has taken effect, there is no

legal basis for any kind of 'extension' of its effective date.

For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must

agree to a sale that satisfies the law's qualified-divestiture

requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist

China."

The U.S. has never banned a major social media platform. The

law passed overwhelmingly by Congress gives the incoming Trump

administration sweeping authority to ban or seek the sale of

other Chinese-owned apps.

Other apps owned by ByteDance, including video editing app

CapCut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and

unavailable in U.S. app stores as of late Saturday.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Google did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

'HAIR ON FIRE' MOMENT

Web searches for "VPN" spiked in the minutes after U.S.

users lost access to TikTok, according to Google Trends.

Users on Instagram fretted about whether they would still

receive merchandise they had bought on TikTok Shop, the video

platform's e-commerce arm.

Marketing firms reliant on TikTok have rushed to prepare

contingency plans in what one executive described as a "hair on

fire" moment after months of conventional wisdom saying that a

solution would materialize to keep the app running.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the U.S.

presidential inauguration and attend a rally with Trump on

Sunday, a source told Reuters.

Suitors including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank

McCourt have expressed interest in the fast-growing business

that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion.

Media reports say Beijing has also held talks about selling

TikTok's U.S. operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon

Musk, though the company has denied that.

U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid on

Saturday to ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S.,

a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters.

Perplexity would merge with TikTok U.S. and create a new

entity by combining the merged company with other partners, the

person added.

Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional

investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its

founders and employees own 20% each. It has more than 7,000

employees in the U.S..