Apple and Google have restored TikTok to their U.S. app stores after President Trump delayed enforcement of a law that requires the popular video app to divest or face a nationwide ban.
The tech companies removed TikTok nearly a month ago to comply with the law, which went into effect Jan. 19.
A day later, on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to keep TikTok operating for 75 days. The reprieve gives TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, more time to find a buyer.
Apple and Google didn’t immediately restore TikTok after Trump’s executive order, concerned that they might be breaking the law if they did so.
But the companies recently received letters from the Justice Department assuring them that they would not face fines for offering TikTok in their app stores, according to the New York Times, which cited two people with knowledge of the situation.
TikTok was reinstated in both app stores Thursday. Apple and Google didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
The future of TikTok has been precarious since 2020, when Trump moved to shut it down because of national security concerns. ByteDance, he said, could assist the Chinese government by sharing the data it collects from its roughly 170 million American users, embedding malicious software in the app or helping to spread disinformation.
In April, President Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell off TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban.
TikTok responded by suing the U.S. government, saying a ban would violate 1st Amendment rights and arguing that there was “no support for the idea” that its Chinese ownership posed national security risks.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law, which makes it illegal for app stores such as Apple and Google Play to distribute TikTok or issue updates to the social media app. Companies that don’t abide face civil penalties of $5,000 per user.
Trump has reversed course on TikTok since his first term, joining the app in June during the presidential election and posting on Truth Social, “Those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump.”
In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court showdown, he tried to prevent the app from being banned, submitting an amicus brief to the high court and asking it to delay the Jan. 19 deadline. He also met with TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew at Mar-a-Lago and invited him to attend his inauguration.
For years, ByteDance’s priority has been to get the law struck down and maintain ownership of the app. The company has signaled that it does not want to sell and give up TikTok’s highly valuable algorithm.
Several prominent names have emerged as potential bidders. It’s unclear where talks, if any, stand.
On Jan. 8, an investor group spearheaded by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt submitted an offer to ByteDance. The group is calling itself the People’s Bid for TikTok and includes Kevin O’Leary, one of the investors from the reality television show “Shark Tank.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Other interested parties include former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and social media personality MrBeast.
