HONG KONG (AP) — TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the US, after US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban.
TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on January 18 to comply with a law that requires ByteDance to divest the app or be banned in the US.
The popular social media app, which has over 170 million American users, previously suspended its services in the US for a day before restoring service following assurances from Trump that he would postpone banning the app.
The TikTok service suspension briefly prompted thousands of users to migrate to RedNote, a Chinese social media app, while calling themselves “TikTok refugees.”
The TikTok app became available to download again in the US Apple App store and Google Play store after nearly a month. On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to postpone the enforcement of a ban on TikTok to April 5.
TikTok has long faced troubles in the US, with the US government claiming that its Chinese ownership and access to the data of millions of Americans makes it a national security risk.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, testifies during the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
TikTok has denied allegations that it has shared US user data at the behest of the Chinese government and argued that the law requiring it to be divested or banned violates the First Amendment rights of its American users.
The US Supreme Court ruled in January, however, that the national security risk outweighs the free speech concern and upheld the ban, assuming the company was not transferred to American hands.
During Trump’s first term in office, he supported banning TikTok but later changed his mind, claiming that he had a “warm spot” for the app. TikTok CEO Shou Chew was among the attendees at Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Trump has suggested that TikTok could be jointly owned, with half of its ownership being American. Potential buyers include real estate mogul Frank McCourt, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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