Phones with TikTok installed are being listed on eBay for $10,000 following the app’s ban and subsequent reinstatement.
Newsweek has reached out to eBay and TikTok outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Why It Matters
TikTok is estimated to have some 170 million users in the U.S. The Pew Research Center estimates that a third of U.S. adults use the app.
Fourteen hours after going dark for millions of Americans, TikTok returned to the U.S. after President-elect Donald Trump promised to pause the ban, which is looming for the platform.
Although TikTok is working again in the U.S., the video-sharing app is not currently available on Apple’s App Store or Google Play.
What To Know
In resale listings on eBay, iPhones with TikTok installed are being sold at prices starting at $1,236 and ranging all the way up to $10,000.
In one listing, an iPhone 16 is priced at $47,033.
The iPhone 15 and 16 models generally sell for between $1,200 and $1,500 on eBay, meaning that the phones with TikTok installed are selling at a markup of between $9,000 and $46,000.
However, this actually represents a decrease in the resale market from when the app was first banned. According to the publication ITC, iPhones with TikTok installed were sold for as much as $1 million during the app’s 14-hour blackout.
Why Has the US Government Threatened TikTok With a Ban?
The federal government has concerns that TikTok, which is Chinese-owned, might threaten U.S. national security. This is due to fears that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on American citizens and/or influence the U.S. public.
The law, which came into effect on January 19, was originally passed in April 2024 and required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the U.S. version of the platform to a neutral party by Sunday or face an outright ban in the country.
What People Are Saying
A statement from TikTok on Sunday read: “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties [for] providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”
President Trump, when asked by reporters about the TikTok ban, said: “I may not or may do the deal. TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don’t approve it. I learned that from the people that own it.”
What Happens Next
Lawmakers and experts are cautious about the future of TikTok, saying that the law that would ban it remains valid.
Users celebrated on Sunday when the app returned, but its revival may be temporary.
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