TikTok restores service in the U.S. after Trump pledges to pause federal ban
TikTok resumed operations for its U.S. users on Sunday afternoon following assurances from President-elect Donald Trump to temporarily halt a federal ban on the app after his inauguration on January 20.
The app had faced a brief shutdown earlier in the day over “national security concerns,” with a federal order mandating its China-based parent company, Bytedance, to sever ties with its U.S. operations. However, the order allows a 90-day extension if a viable sale is in progress.
Trump, set to assume office in January, expressed a willingness to grant TikTok more time to comply with federal requirements. He suggested a joint venture in which the U.S. holds a 50% ownership stake, asserting that the app’s valuation could soar to "hundreds of billions or even trillions" of dollars.
“By doing this, we save TikTok and keep it in good hands,” Trump stated on Truth Social, his social media platform.
During his previous presidency, Trump had supported a ban on TikTok, citing security risks. His executive orders targeting Bytedance and WeChat were subsequently blocked by courts. However, Trump’s position on the app shifted during his recent campaign, as TikTok significantly boosted his popularity among younger voters.
Despite the announcement, the app remained unavailable on Google Play and Apple app stores. Uncertainty lingered as the U.S. Supreme Court had unanimously upheld the ban on Friday, enforcing it the day before Trump’s return to office
TikTok issued a statement confirming it was restoring service, thanking Trump for “necessary clarity and assurance” to its service providers. The app’s message to users declared, “TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
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Indigo flights chaos: SCR to run special trains to clear passenger rush
Hyderabad (PTI): The South Central Railway on Saturday announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers resulting from the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights here.
The move comes as flyers face significant disruption and long queues at the airport due to the cancellation.
A press release from the SCR said it is running the special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar (Kolkata) from Hyderabad today.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 outbound Indigo flights were cancelled from here on Saturday, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport sources said.
Similarly, 26 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day, they said.
The flight cancellations drew ire from passengers, who thronged the IndiGo counters at the airport demanding to know the exact situation.
“This is utter nonsense! Digiyatra done, message received that departure has been rescheduled ahead of the scheduled departure and now upon arriving at Hyderabad airport coming to know at the security checkpoint that Indigo flight is cancelled,” Tarun Singha, former Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a post on X.
“But the thing is if you don’t shout they do nothing. Example at Hyderabad Airport, there was no staff no flight information for an hour. Then a fellow passenger started shouting on mic and an Indigo staff appeared finally,” a netizen said in a post.
On Friday, when IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights from across airports, its CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in a video message for the major inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruptions.
In the one-way video communication, Elbers also said that the airline was expecting fewer than 1,000 flights on Saturday.
