Apple has put TikTok back on the App Store, allowing users to download it again. This decision follows a letter from the U.S. Attorney General to Apple, indicating that the U.S. government will not currently enforce the ban on TikTok.
Apple initially removed TikTok and other ByteDance apps from the App Store in January to comply with legal requirements.
Apple reinstates TikTok on the App Store
The TikTok situation in the U.S. has been complex. A previous ban briefly made the app unavailable. Apple and Google removed the app from their app stores after ByteDance allegedly failed to meet the requirements of an Act. This Act demanded the sale of ByteDance’s US operations by a specific deadline.
An executive order was signed which directed the DoJ to delay enforcing the ban. Despite this order, Apple and Google initially chose not to reinstate TikTok on their app stores, possibly to avoid potential fines.
Now, sources report that TikTok is once again available for download on the App Store, after the letter from the Attorney General. Google has also restored the social media app on the Play Store.
Reinstating the application in the App Store allows those with new devices to install TikTok. More importantly, it enables ByteDance to send out necessary updates to the app on existing users’ phones.
TikTok fate still hangs in the balance
Even with TikTok’s return to the App Store, its long-term future in the U.S. remains uncertain. The previous order only delayed the ban’s enforcement.
ByteDance may still need to sell its U.S. operations to a U.S. company. Without a sale, the app could face another ban and removal from app stores.
ByteDance has consistently stated that it is not interested in selling. The status of TikTok and other ByteDance apps in the U.S. is still unresolved.
The situation surrounding TikTok’s availability in the U.S. remains dynamic and uncertain.