Apple and Google restore Tiktok to their US app store on Thursday evening, weeks after they removed the Chinese-owned video platform, and weeks after complying with new laws that banned it domestically I did.
Last month, President Trump tried to suspend the enforcement of the Tiktok ban on an execution order. However, Apple and Google were reluctant to get Tiktok back until they were convinced they wouldn't break the law.
Apple and Google had recently received a letter from the Department of Justice, ensuring they would not face a fine for carrying Tiktoks in the app store, and two people with knowledge of communications have publicly said He said he was not allowed to speak. The executive order signed by Trump last month asked him to send out “written guidance.”
The law signed last year by President Joseph R. Biden had asked by January 19th by Bytedance, the parent company of Tiktok, to sell the app to non-Chinese owners. threat. The law covers app store operators and internet hosting companies with sudden financial penalties for distributing or maintaining Tiktok.
Trump's executive order has spurred 75 days of refusing the Justice Department to put the law into effect for 75 days, prompting chaos among technology companies while his administration pursues resolutions. Apple and Google had been locking Tiktok out of the app store, but companies like Oracle, which provide back-end technology support for apps, have resumed it after a brief shutdown in January.
Apple and Google did not comment beyond reviving the app. Tiktok and a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Tiktok's return to the app store means this is back in operation as it always did in the US. It raised questions about whether Trump remains in the rule of law or whether he will put enforcement first. Some experts say the conflict represents the beginning of a constitutional crisis. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law last month.
“We're in a very critical state when we reach 75 days without a deal and say Trump won't continue to enforce it,” said Lindsay Gohman, managing director of the technology program at the German Marshall Fund. said. Former technical advisor to the Biden administration. “And we have a bigger problem than we do with Tiktok, but the relationship between the executive and legislative department.”
On Thursday, Trump suggested that he might extend the non-enforcement of laws banning Tiktok.
“I've had 90 days from about two weeks ago and I'm sure that can be extended, but let's take a look,” he said. “There are a lot of people interested in Tiktok.”
Lawmakers and intelligence reporters have long argued that the ordinance can hand over Beijing-sensitive US user data (such as location information). They also argue that China can use Tiktok's content recommendations to promote misinformation.
Tiktok rejected such concerns and said there was no official evidence that either situation occurred in the United States.
Since the law came into effect last month, Tiktok, which claims 170 million US users, has been barely affected by American phones that have already downloaded the app. Still, some Tiktok creators complained of a glitch they believed was linked to the absence of apps from the app store. That includes Tiktok live streaming and digital coin issues that users can buy and give to their favorite creators.
Trump promised to save Tiktok during the campaign, saying it would help coordinate transactions for companies that maintain it in the US. However, it is unclear how his administration will do it under the restrictions of the law, which means that it is seeking sales and that Chinese people or people will directly or indirectly retain more than 20% of the Tiktok. They say they can't do that.
Bytedance has said for years that it cannot sell apps as the Chinese government does not allow Tiktok's very important algorithms to export.
On Tuesday, Tiktok executives told creators in a briefing call that Apple and Google were optimistic about reviving the app any time soon, Tiktok creator and author H. Lee Justine said they were on the phone. I stated.
“They said the administration gave them a lot of information that they wouldn't be punished, and they were really hoping that would be brought back to the app store at any time,” she said in an interview. . “It is very hopeful that they felt they could do this.
David McCabe contributed the report.
