TikTok back on Apple, Google app stores

TikTok returned to Apple and Google app stores for downloading in the United States on Thursday. This follows assurances in a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that a ban would not immediately be enforced, according to media reports.

“The TikTok app is now available for download from the App Store and Google Play. Our U.S. users can download the latest version of our app and continue to create, discover, and share what they love on TikTok,” the popular short-video platform said in an official statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that his 75-day delay in enforcing a ban on TikTok could be extended, but claimed he doesn’t think it will be necessary.

The Chinese-owned social media app, used by 170 million Americans, went dark temporarily from the two stores before a law took effect Jan. 19 that requires its Chinese owner ByteDance either to sell it on national security grounds or face a ban.

On the day Trump took office Jan. 20, he issued an executive order to delay the TikTok ban by 75 days “to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok,” Xinhua reported.

TikTok began restoring its services after about 14 hours of shutdown. Despite the delay of law enforcement, both Google and Apple had kept TikTok unavailable on their app stores in the U.S.

Commenting on TikTok’s return to the Apple and Google app stores, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that the Chinese social media app has a large and rapidly growing user base in the U.S., as quoted by the Global Times.

“TikTok has become an integral part of the U.S. economy, contributing to economic growth and creating jobs,” Zhou said.

TikTok has maintained about 90% of its user traffic in the U.S., despite briefly going offline and being removed from the Apple and Google app stores, the CNBC previously reported, citing data from Cloudflare Radar.

Trump previously said that he thinks the U.S. should own “half” of the social media app for it to stay in operation in the country.

In the latest remarks to reporters about the matter in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump claimed he still hopes to make a deal on TikTok to keep the app alive in the U.S., crediting it with helping him win the 2024 presidential election.

Although Trump wants to resolve the TikTok issue quickly, finding a solution that agrees with the laws and regulations of the U.S. and China as well as the interest of the company’s stakeholders may take longer than expected, Zhou said.

Responding to a media question over the possibility of cutting a deal, Mao Ning, spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry, told a press conference in January that “the decision is in the hand of the companies in accordance with market principles. If it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed.”