Now, TikTok is operating normally. The app is back available in the US on the Google Play and Apple Stores
After being absent from the US market for over three weeks, the short-form video platform TikTok has made a comeback to the App Store and Google Play stores.
The return follows the imposition of a federal ban on the day before President Trump was inaugurated for a second term. Despite the app’s return to the aforementioned platforms, its legal future remains uncertain, and that doesn’t guarantee that its problems will end.
It is important to keep in mind that this is one of the most popular platforms worldwide. Its return to the app stores is a major event. However, the return of TikTok does not solve the legal challenges facing the service in the United States.
The context behind this situation is complex. Upon his return to the White House, President Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one to delay the implementation of the TikTok ban. The order, which is valid for 75 days from its date, is intended to allow a potential sale of the platform in accordance with US national security concerns.
Despite this delay, both Apple and Google decided to wait before allowing TikTok back into their app stores. The main reason for this caution is doubts about the president’s constitutional authority to order the Justice Department not to enforce a congressionally approved ban, and both companies preferred to avoid taking the risk.
But that changed when US Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Apple confirming that restoring TikTok did not violate the law. Google is believed to have received a similar assurance, of course. However, Google decided to keep the app on its store only until the end of the 75-day extension period, indicating that the company remains cautious about TikTok’s future.
TikTok’s return to the Apple and Google stores marks another chapter in the platform’s history and its troubles in the United States. While the app’s presence in the app stores is a positive step, the legal and political challenges facing the app are far from resolved. The potential for sale, national security concerns, and tensions between the United States and China are factors that will continue to influence TikTok’s fate.