Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google restored ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok to their app stores following a letter from US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the prohibition on the app would not be enforced immediately. The move concludes weeks of suspense over the destiny of TikTok in the United States, with both companies removing the app last month in line with a 2024 law.
The latest TikTok app is now available to download
— TikTok US (@tiktok_us) February 14, 2025
Return of TikTok to the App Stores
TikTok was temporarily removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play store in January after a federal ban imposed by the US government. The legislation, enacted earlier this year in 2024, mandated the removal of the app unless ByteDance divested the US side of its company. Nevertheless, following a guarantee from Attorney General Pam Bondi, both Apple and Google reinstalled TikTok on their sites by Thursday night.
The move comes after an executive order dated January 20 by then President Donald Trump that directed the Attorney General “not to take any action to enforce the act during a period of 75 days from today so that my administration can have the opportunity to evaluate the appropriate future course of action.” Although TikTok is back, its long-term fate in the US hangs in the balance.
Federal Legislation and National Security Concerns
The controversy has focused on TikTok’s Chinese parent company, and US legislators are concerned that the app has the potential to spy on US citizens. It is mandatory in China for firms to provide the government with access to data whenever they are requested. Consequently, US legislators enacted the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” in 2024, which required a nationwide ban on TikTok unless ByteDance sold the US division of the company by January 19.
Trump, who initially advocated for a ban on TikTok, shifted his position, saying, “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally.” ByteDance has staunchly insisted that TikTok is not up for sale, and the future of the app in the US remains uncertain.
Unless there is an agreement by early April to address the national security issues of TikTok’s ownership, the app might be shut down again. The current situation demonstrates the conflict between the national security issues and the app’s general popularity in the US.
