Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 to extend the ban on TikTok, implemented by former President Joe Biden last year. The order granted a 75-day extension, which Trump said will allow him to consult with his advisors and heads of "relevant" departments and agencies to address national security concerns posed by TikTok.

During the outage, even users who had previously downloaded TikTok were unable to access the app. While service has since been restored, the app remains unavailable for download in U.S.-based app stores, leaving new users unable to access it.

The future of TikTok in the United States is still uncertain, following it going weekend. Part of his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order postponing the ban by 75 days.

TikTok was briefly suspended on January 19. It was, however, restored the following day. Despite this, people are still unable to download the app. Anybody attempting to upgrade or download the app within the last week has encountered app stores not allowing them to do so.

TikTok, which faces the ticking clock of a ban enforcement, is being pursued by several suitors for a US merger or sale.

Perplexity AI has revised its merger proposal to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to include a provision allowing the US government to own up to 50% of the new entity following an IPO, CNBC reported.