Apple, Google restore TikTok to their app stores
Less than a month after pulling TikTok from their U.S. app stores in response to a new law that requires TikTok to divest from its China-based owner, the social media platform was returning to both the Apple and Google Play stores Thursday night.
A Google spokesperson told CBS News that TikTok was restored to its app store. The app also appeared available in the Apple store. CBS News has reached out to Apple and TikTok for comment.
The moves come after Bloomberg reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi notified Apple and Google that the new law would not be immediately enforced.
There was growing concern among lawmakers and national security officials that TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance could use the immensely popular short-form video app to spy on Americans or manipulate the content they see on the platform.
A bipartisan bill was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in April 2024 gave TikTok until Jan. 19 to sever ties with ByteDance or lose access to app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S.
TikTok and ByteDance challenged the law, but it was upheld by the Supreme Court days before it took effect, which cited risks to national security over the app’s data collection practices.
When the deadline came last month, TikTok briefly and voluntarily shut down service in the U.S. The app was also pulled from the Apple and Google Play stores, even though the Biden administration, in its waning hours, said it would be up to the Trump administration to enforce it.
However, just one day later, on the same day as his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order that called on the Justice Department not to enforce the law for a period of at least 75 days.
TikTok had remained operational for those in the U.S. who had already downloaded the app, though updates were unavailable as long as it was inaccessible in the app stores.
Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday that there are many people interested in acquiring TikTok and he was hopeful that a deal could be made.
“We’ll have to probably get approval from China to do it,” Mr. Trump said. “I think China will be interested, because it’s to their benefit, too.”
