TikTok’s brief shutdown was called a “deliberate PR stunt” to create a “sense of panic”

TikTok’s decision to shut down the app for barely 12 hours — only to restore access to the Chinese-owned app on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump stepped in — appeared to be a PR stunt intended to spark a public outcry, experts said. policies for The after

“TikTok’s early shutdown was either the result of corporate incompetence or a deliberate PR stunt to induce a manufactured sense of panic,” said Joel Thayer, a D.C.-based technology attorney and president of the Digital Progress Institute. “Considering it’s smooth, I’m assuming it’s the latter.”

The popular video-sharing app pulled the plug on all US users late Saturday night, but began restoring service Sunday afternoon after Trump vowed to “save” TikTok through an executive order on Monday that would delay enforcement of the law. sale that requires parent company ByteDance to sell the stack

The company thanked Trump “for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will not face any penalties.”

However, the Biden administration had already said it would not enforce the law, and Trump previously signaled before the shutdown that he opposed the ban and would “most likely” issue the executive order.

The company’s leadership has acted as “a dispassionate, honest broker” in its dealings with Congress and the public over the past several years, Thayer said.

“The truth is that, even before Congress passed the law, the US has been telling TikTok how to fix its glaring national security concerns for over 5 years and the company did nothing,” he added. “Now, after trying to bring bogus First Amendment claims to delay enforcement and on the verge of getting banned, she wants a bad party.”

Under the sales law, app store operators like Google and Apple face fines of $5,000 per user if they allow new downloads of the Bytedance-owned app after January. 19 deadline. Service providers such as Oracle and Akamai also faced less responsibility for supporting application operations.

As written, the law did not require TikTok to go dark for people who had already downloaded it to their phones, nor did it bar Americans from accessing the app.

A TikTok representative declined further comment and pointed to the company’s previous statement.

Searches for TikTok returned no results on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store as of 2:45 p.m. ET — a sign that the US tech giants were still unwilling to risk the massive penalties outlined in the law, even after Trump’s announcement. .

Google declined to comment on the situation. A message on Apple’s App Store said the company was “obliged to follow the laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates.”

Representatives for Oracle and Akamai did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“This may be a game for TikTok, but it’s not a game for Apple and Google,” said Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and author of “Countering China’s Big Game.” “They must respect the law, regardless of TikTok’s shenanigans.”

“The law that Congress passed and the Supreme Court upheld requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores if it is still owned and controlled by a foreign adversary today — which it is,” Sobolik added.

Trump said he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.”

“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and let it speak [sic]”, Trump said. “Without US approval, there is no TikTok.”

TikTok said it will “work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

Despite Trump’s assurances, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who previously warned that the liabilities could reach $850 billion, told service providers to think twice about ignoring the law.

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise assists the communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars in punitive liability under the law, not only from the DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and State AGs.” Cotton wrote in X. “Think about it.”

Cotton and his Republican senator. Pete Ricketts had previously said there was “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 meets the qualified sale requirements of the law by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China,” the senators said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally, also threw cold water on the notion that TikTok could come back without complying with the law’s requirement that its parent company ByteDance divest.

“I think we’re going to enforce the law,” Johnson told NBC News.

The Biden White House previously referred to TikTok’s threat to go dark as a “stunt.”

“It’s a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” the outgoing White House press secretary said earlier this week. Karine Jean-Pierre.

Congress passed the sell-off bill with overwhelming bipartisan support amid concerns that TikTok essentially functioned as a spyware and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party — facilitating everything from mass data collection on Americans to subtle algorithmic manipulation of public opinion. his.

TikTok has denied wrongdoing. The company repeatedly said it would not sell, even as the deadline loomed. Chinese government officials vowed to block any forced sales.

The company unsuccessfully argued that the sales law violated the First Amendment. The nine Supreme Court judges ruled unanimously against TikTok and ByteDance.

“Unless and until TikTok is no longer controlled by Beijing, the national security threat that motivated the sale law has not been addressed,” said Evan Swarztrauber, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

As The Post reported, some so-called “TikTok refugees” flocked to China-owned alternative RedNote before the ban — even though experts warned it carried even greater security risks.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.