TikTok Got Knocked Down, But It Got Back Up Again — At Least Temporarily

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On Saturday, we were expecting TikTok to shut down by Sunday, thanks to the United States Supreme Court unanimously upholding a law that forced ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or face a ban in the US.
TikTok had hoped to get the ban overturned, saying it infringed on US citizens’ First Amendment rights to free speech. Unfortunately for ByteDance, the Justices agreed with lawmakers that their “well-supported national security concerns” supersede those rights.
TikTok was indeed taken offline at 10:30 p.m. ET in the United States on Saturday, followed by Apple removing the app from its App Store (and Google following suit with the Play Store).
However, President-elect Donald Trump offered hope to TikTok and its users. In a Saturday interview with NBC News, Trump indicated that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension:
I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation. If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.
President Donald J. Trump
Trump then on Sunday said that he would “issue an executive order on Monday” to give more time before the US TikTok ban was enforced. Trump said the order would “also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
The order would mean Apple and Google could, if they wished, return the app to their app stores.
When TikTok came back online Sunday afternoon, the app showed a message saying “Welcome back!” adding, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”
However, while TikTok came back online Sunday afternoon, neither it or any other apps developed by ByteDance, were returned to the App Store or the Google Play Store. As of this article, the apps have still not yet made a return to either app marketplace.
In a support document published today, Apple said it is “obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates.”
Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries — including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and others — will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025.
Apple
Some of the apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries that are affected include:
- TikTok
- TikTok Studio
- TikTok Shop Seller Center
- CapCut
- Lemon8
- Hypic
- Lark – Team Collaboration
- Lark – Rooms Display
- Lark Rooms Controller
- Gauth: AI Study Companion
- MARVEL SNAP
While Apple and Google have not yet returned TikTok to their available app lists, key TikTok partner Oracle apparently felt safe enough to turn its TikTok servers back on — despite the ban. US TikTok user data has been stored on Oracle Cloud servers since 2020.
The reprieve for TikTok and its partners may only be a temporary one, as the law still requires parent company ByteDance to sell the service’s US operations to a buyer approed by the US government. While it does allow for a 90-day extension, Trump has said an extension will require the company to certify to Congress that a “qualified divestiture” is underway.
Meanwhile, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew attended President Trump’s inauguration Monday morning. Chew arrived alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook and podcaster and commentator Joe Rogan.