As storytelling goes, the “what will happen with TikTok?” saga would probably get the editorial note, “one damn thing after another,” with a request to “slow down already. It’s been a more than busy few days. The long and the short of it is that, contrary to the expectations of many observers and the expressed wishes of both the incoming and outgoing administrations, TikTok did indeed “go dark” on Sunday.

ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
A note appeared on screens, followed by another hours later when the app reappeared, strongly suggesting that the incoming president had stepped in to facilitate its return. I will leave commentary for more opinion-oriented pieces, but there was no actual requirement for the site to have gone offline, as the outgoing administration had made clear they would not enforce the ban.
Creators Face Uncertainty
Creators have been through an incredibly difficult period. Many of them are now reunited with their followings but with some obvious and less obvious caveats. The obvious one is that uncertainty remains, along with the sense that creators can be pawns in a larger game and that what has been switched off once could be switched off again.
The less obvious caveat is that some users have yet to regain access to their accounts.
What everyone will want to know is what the prospects for the long term are. The new president certainly seems tech-friendly (judging from the inauguration guest list) and eager to play a high-profile role in a deal to rescue the app in the U.S. Elon Musk has been floated as a possible buyer, as have many others. It seems that President Trump is interested in negotiating a joint U.S.-Chinese ownership. We will see what happens, but the uncertainty’s effect on BookTok remains to be seen, as does its potential to spur the creation of new communities on other platforms.
Publishing.com Under Investigation
Meanwhile, following last week’s news of the arrests related to PageTurner Press, Nate Hofelder’s Morning Coffee points out that Publishing.com, the bane of my Facebook feed, is now under investigation in the United States for making unsubstantiated claims about potential earnings from its self-publishing courses. The company, run by the Mikkelsen twins, is also alleged to be using high-pressure tactics to persuade people to part with thousands of dollars to learn how to upload low-quality content to Kindle Unlimited.
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