TikTok returns to Apple, Google app stores

TikTok returned to the Apple and Google app stores Thursday evening.

The Chinese-owned social media app had been removed from the the two stores on Jan. 18, moments after TikTok’s leadership temporarily halted service in the U.S. in response to a national security law that went into effect the next day.

Nearly a month later, TikTok is once again available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Internet service providers like Apple, Google and Oracle could have incurred harsh penalties for violating the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. That law, which former President Joe Biden signed in April required China-based ByteDance to divest its TikTok U.S. operations by Jan. 19 or face an effective ban of the app in the country.

TikTok has argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of its over 170 million U.S. users, while the U.S. government believes that ByteDance’s ownership and its alleged ties to the People’s Republic of China make the app a national security risk. The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration in January, and, in an opinion, said, “Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

TikTok pushed back on the Supreme Court’s decision, and followed through with its threat to shut down its U.S. operations unless the Biden administration intervened. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre characterized the move as a “stunt,” adding that the Biden Administration “laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration.”

Trump previously said that he would delay TikTok’s federal U.S. ban via signing an executive order following his inauguration that day.

He said on his Truth Social platform that he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture” in order to “save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up.”

The president-elect said he would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”

TikTok then said in a statement that it was “in the process of restoring service” to American users.

“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok said in the statement.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. responded to TikTok’s statement via a post on X, and warned of the consequences of failing to comply with the law.

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs,” Cotton said. “Think about it.”

In February, Trump signed an executive order that included plans for a government-run sovereign wealth fund, which he said could be used to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations.

President Trump has previously said he wants a U.S. investor to own a majority stake in the ByteDance-owned TikTok, and has floated the names of Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Tesla CEO Elon Musk as possible acquirers.

Watch: We are the only TikTok bidder that meets the SCOTUS’ criteria, says Project Liberty’s Frank McCourt