TikTok Returns to App Store and Google Play for U.S. Users

TikTok has been reinstated on the Apple App Store and Google Play store for U.S. users as of Thursday. The move comes after the companies removed the app on January 19, 2025, due to a federal law banning TikTok as of that date.

The tech giants initially pulled TikTok from their U.S. stores because Chinese parent company ByteDance had not divested its ownership of the platform, as required by the law. Penalties for violating the law include fines of $5,000 per user, potentially totaling $850 billion (based on TikTok's claim of 170 million U.S. users).

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order instructing the U.S. Attorney General to refrain from enforcing the TikTok ban for 75 days. The order also instructed the AG to inform TikTok providers that there had been no violations of the statute and no liability for conduct as of January 19 and during the extension.

According to Bloomberg, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to this effect to Apple and Google on Thursday.

Representatives from TikTok, Apple, and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On its official U.S. blog, TikTok acknowledged the app's return to the Apple and Google stores without further explanation. "The TikTok app is now available for download from the App Store and Google Play," the company stated. "Our U.S. users can download the latest version of our app and continue to create, discover, and share what they love on TikTok."

A previously deleted message on Apple's support site, posted on February 7, 2025, indicated that TikTok and other ByteDance apps were not available in the U.S. The message stated that Apple was "obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates" and that, in compliance with the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," apps developed by ByteDance, including TikTok, would be removed from the App Store for U.S. users as of January 19, 2025.

After losing an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the ban on First Amendment grounds, TikTok shut down its U.S. app on January 18, 2025, ahead of the law's deadline. However, the company restored service to U.S. users the next day, citing President Trump's pledge to not enforce the ban while seeking a solution to keep the app legal.

President Trump's 75-day pause on the TikTok ban expires on April 5, 2025. It remains unclear whether Trump can successfully find a solution that meets the requirements of the law.

The TikTok divest-or-ban law was passed by Congress in 2024 with bipartisan support and signed by President Biden. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about TikTok's Chinese ties, citing the potential risk of data collection or propaganda dissemination by the Chinese Communist Party.

Trump has suggested that ByteDance and TikTok's owners provide the U.S. government with a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. He has also proposed Oracle founder Larry Ellison or tech mogul Elon Musk as potential buyers. However, ByteDance has not indicated a willingness to divest its ownership of TikTok as required by U.S. law. The company has stated that 60% of its ownership is held by "global institutional investors," with 20% owned by Chinese founders and 20% by employees (including U.S. employees).