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US president Donald Trump’s executive order pauses the app’s ban in the country until early April.
Apple and Google have allowed TikTok to return to their US app stores less than a month after the Chinese-owned social media platform was briefly banned in the country.
The return was first reported by Bloomberg, which said that the newly appointed US attorney general Pam Bondi, assured the two tech giants in a letter that they won’t be fined for hosting the app.
Moreover, outlets also reported earlier this month that US vice-president JD Vance is tasked with overseeing the negotiations for a potential TikTok sale.
TikTok’s ban, which was upheld by the US Supreme Court last month, led to the ByteDance-owned social media platform being briefly shut down on 18 January. However, hours later, TikTok said that it was restoring services in the country “as a result of president Trump’s efforts”.
Although, while the app was not available for download on the two app stores, users who had it on their devices could continue using it.
Trump, who has flip-flopped on his views on TikTok for years, released a statement on his social media platform Truth Social days before his inauguration, asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark.
During his first day in office as president, he issued an executive order telling the Department of Justice to not enforce the Act introduced by former president Joe Biden, which forces TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the US.
Trump’s order has effectively extended the deadline of the ban by 75 days until early April, providing the president with “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way.”
However, both Apple and Google did not allow TikTok to return to their app stores immediately after Trump’s orders. In addition, Apple also banned a total of 11 ByteDance-owned apps in the country, including CapCut, the popular video editor; Lemon8, an Instagram-like social media platform; along with TikTok; and TikTok Studio and Shop.
Fears around TikTok were first brought to the forefront by Trump during his first administration, who signed an executive order in 2020, attempting to force the platform to be divested from ByteDance or face a ban in the country.
He claimed that the step was necessary to ensure the safety of the country’s national security, foreign policy and economy, which were ‘threatened’ by the app’s connection to China. The executive order however, was halted by the US District Court.
In 2024, then president Joe Biden successfully passed legislation which would ban TikTok in the country unless the app divested from ByteDance – legislation Trump is now opposes.
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