TikTok returned to the US Apple and Google app stores on Thursday 13 February 2025 after President Donald Trump postponed a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app and assured the tech giants that they would not be fined for distributing or maintaining it, Reuters writes.
The popular short-form video app used by nearly half of Americans was briefly shut down last month before a law went into effect on Jan. 19 that requires its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban.
The following day, Trump signed an executive order seeking to delay the ban by 75 days, allowing TikTok to temporarily continue operating in the U.S.
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump’s assurances, Google and Apple have kept the app removed from their U.S. app stores.
