TikTok advertisers started seeing their U.S. campaigns resume on Sunday as the app came back online, sources told Ad Age. The platform had gone offline late Saturday—leaving ad traffic to plummet to zero—amid a months-long battle with the U.S. government.
“Ad campaigns that include U.S. audiences will resume operating and delivering ads to U.S.-based users, although live campaigns will have certain limitations,” Blake Chandlee, president of TikTok’s global business solutions, said in a note to advertisers and agency leaders obtained by Ad Age.
TikTok only remained offline for 12 hours, reappearing Sunday afternoon—not long after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order when he takes office Monday to give service providers legal cover to host TikTok.
While the app started to return, it remained unavailable for new downloads but accessible to existing users.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.” the Chinese-owned TikTok said in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”
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On Sunday, Apple issued a rare statement about the status of TikTok and other ByteDance apps within its App Store in the U.S. “TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps are no longer available in the United States, and visitors to the United States might have limited access to features,” Apple’s statement said. “Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates.”
Apple listed the multiple ByteDance-affiliated apps no longer available for download or update in the U.S., including lifestyle app Lemon8, video-editing app CapCut, TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Seller Center. “Some app functions might become limited or stop working since the app can’t receive updates,” Apple stated. U.S. users, and people visiting the U.S. with accounts made elsewhere, will have limited features, including an inability to make in-app purchases, Apple shared.