TikTok users in the US received a welcome surprise on Thursday evening as America’s favorite short-video platform returned to the Apple and Google app stores.
The move follows a missive sent to the companies by US Attorney General Pam Bondi assuring that a ban wouldn’t immediately be enforced, according to Bloomberg News, who first reported the story after speaking with individuals familiar with the matter.
The return also coincides with news on Thursday that US President Donald Trump announced he would consider extending the app’s divest deadline past the April 5th extension already granted to its parent company, the Chinese-owned Bytedance – but he also said he didn’t think it would be necessary.
"Well, I have 90 days from about two weeks ago, and I'm sure it can be extended. But let's see. I don't think you'll need to,” Trump told reporters in Washington, although to note, the original extension, which he signed on January 20th, was actually 75 days, not 90.
Trump signed the 75-day extension in an Executive Order to keep TikTok running for its 170 million American users on his first day in office as promised.
The move came less than 24 hours after the app shut down for users across the country on January 19th, the deadline given to ByteDance to sell TikTok or have it banned from operating in the US.
Trump, who has credited young voters on TikTok for helping him win the 2024 US presidential election in November, acknowledged there has been a flurry of interested buyers for the app.
Trump's recent comments on TikTok Ban:
undefined Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) December 16, 2024
undefinedI have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say TikTok had something to do with that.undefined pic.twitter.com/dFwHxzjnnw
Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping would agree to approve the sale of TikTok to a US buyer as it would also be in China's interest.
"I'm going to make it worthwhile for China to do," Trump said. "I think it would be to China's advantage to have the deal be made."
Even so, ByteDance has said it had no plans to sell the app under any circumstances due to its top-secret algorithm and maintaining control over it. According to the Chinese tech company, its stance has not changed.
The January 19th ban was part of a legal requirement laid out in a divestiture bill passed by Congress and signed by then US President Joe Biden last spring. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act garnered support from Republicans and Democrats over national security concerns and the large amounts of data it collects on American users.
Trump’s delay allowed the app to continue operating temporarily, although the Apple and Google Play app stores had removed the ability to download the app as soon as it shut down to avoid any government fines.
Since then, Trump has assured the companies they would not be fined for distributing or maintaining TikTok in the interim.
TikTok was the second most downloaded app in the US, with more than 52 million downloads in 2024, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Reuters reported.
The downloads were split almost evenly between the two companies, with the App Store showing 52% of downloads and Google Play with 48%.
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