TikTok was taken off of Apple and Google’s U.S. app stores on Thursday, after President Donald Trump put off a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app and told the tech giants they would not be fined for maintaining or spreading it.
The popular short video app that almost half of Americans use went offline for a short time last month. This was before a law went into effect on January 19 that says the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, must either sell it to protect national security or face a ban.
The next day, Trump signed an executive order that would delay the ban’s implementation for 75 days. This would briefly allow TikTok to keep running in the U.S.
Even though TikTok started working again after Trump’s promises, Google and Apple didn’t add the app to their U.S. app shops.
The second most popular app in the U.S. last year was TikTok. The company announced on Thursday that its newest app could now be downloaded.
Analysts say the delay could have been because Google and Apple were waiting for proof that they would not be prosecuted for hosting or spreading the app.
Trump’s order said that the companies that run app stores or digital marketplaces where people can look at, download, and update apps would not be punished for keeping the TikTok app going.
Sensor Tower, a market research company, says that more than 52 million people downloaded TikTok in 2024.
Around 52% of all the downloads it got in the U.S. last year came from the Apple App Store, while 48% came from Google Play.
In April of last year, President Joe Biden signed a law that says ByteDance must sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban. This was done because of worries about national security and the possibility that China could use the video-sharing app to spy on American users.
A big social media site has never been banned in the U.S., and a law passed last year gives the government a lot of power to ban or try to sell other Chinese-owned apps.
Trump said on Thursday that his target of 75 days for TikTok could be pushed back.
Many people, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, are interested in buying TikTok because of all the problems there. The company is growing quickly and could be worth as much as $50 billion, according to experts.
Trump said he was in talks with several people about buying TikTok and that he would probably decide what to do with the app in February.
Also Read: Since Tiktok is Being Blocked in the Us, Here Are Some Other Apps You Can Try
Shivani Tanna, Bipasha Dey, Devika Nair, and Jaspreet Singh reported from Bengaluru, and Stephen Nellis did the same from San Francisco. Miyoung Kim, Stephen Coates, and Jamie Freed edited the story.
What do you say about this story? Visit Parhlo World For more.
