TikTok Makes Its Return to Apple and Google App Stores in the US

HIGHLIGHTS:

• TikTok returns to the US Apple and Google app stores after President Trump delays a ban until April 5, 2025.
• A 75-day extension was granted for TikTok to comply with a law requiring it to sell to a neutral third party.
• The app's availability comes after assurances to Apple and Google that they wouldn't be liable for downloads amid ongoing political tension.
• Possible buyers include Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, and even MrBeast, who expressed interest.
• Trump showed support for TikTok, even considering joint ownership with China or a US buyer.

TikTok is once again accessible on the US Apple and Google app stores after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform until April 5.

The widely-used app, which has over 170 million American users, was briefly removed from the stores last month as the ban deadline neared.

Trump later signed an executive order, granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.

According to Bloomberg, which was the first to report TikTok being back on the US app stores, the decision to make the app available again was based on the assurance given to Apple and Google by the Trump administration that they would not be held liable for allowing downloads, and that the ban would not be enforced for the time being.

Signed into law by ex-President Joe Biden, Congress passed the law prohibiting TikTok with bipartisan support.

The law demanded that TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sell the US version of the app to a neutral third party to avoid a full ban.

The Biden administration argued that China could use TikTok for espionage and political influence. China and TikTok have denied these allegations, while 

Beijing has already rejected any notion of selling off the American operations of TikTok.

The law banning the app was backed by lawmakers from both parties and was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.

While Trump had supported banning the app during his first term, he seemed to change his stance last year during the presidential race, expressing a "warm spot" for the app and highlighting the billions of views his campaign videos garnered on the platform.

When the app resumed functioning in the US last month, a pop-up message was sent to its millions of users, thanking Trump by name.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago following his electoral win in November and later attended his inauguration.

Trump has expressed a desire to find a compromise with the Chinese company that aligns with the spirit, rather than the strict letter, of the law, even suggesting the possibility of TikTok being jointly owned.

"One idea I'm considering is having someone buy it, give half to the US, half to China, and we’ll give you a permit," he recently stated during a news conference on artificial intelligence.

He also mentioned being open to selling the app to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison or billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency.

Other names previously linked to buying TikTok include billionaire Frank McCourt and Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary, a celebrity investor on the US version of Shark Tank.

The world’s biggest YouTuber, Jimmy Donaldson, AKA MrBeast, has also claimed he's in the running after several investors reached out to him following his social media post expressing interest.