TikTok returns to US app stores

The TikTok app returned to the Apple and Google US app stores on Thursday after President Donald Trump promised to save it and delayed the enforcement of the ban.

The move comes even though the Supreme Court upheld the ban on January 17.

Former President Joe Biden signed a law last April requiring China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok to US or allied owners by January 20 or shut it down. As the deadline approached, the two tech giants removed the app from their stores on January 19.

Ongoing national security concerns
Lawmakers argue that ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, could be forced to share user data with the Chinese government. This has fueled bipartisan concerns over national security and foreign influence.

Meanwhile, Oracle, Microsoft and other investors are negotiating a deal to acquire TikTok’s US operations.