TikTok Returns to US App Stores After Trump's Intervention

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Feb 14, 2025

Above: The TikTok LOGO is shown inside a smartphone with the Google Play and Apple App Stores in the backdrop in Suqian, Jiangsu province, China, Feb. 14, 2025. Image copyright: CFOTO/Contributor/Future Publishing via Getty Imagesstory last updated 8 days ago

The Facts

Apple and Google restored TikTok to their US app stores on Thursday evening, following a nearly month-long hiatus that began Jan. 19, 2024, when a federal law took effect requiring the Beijing-based tech company ByteDance to divest TikTok.
The restoration came after Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Apple and Google assuring them they would not face legal consequences for hosting the social media app TikTok while the administration works on a solution.
The original ban stemmed from a law signed by then-President Biden in April 2023, which required ByteDance to sell TikTok or face removal from US app stores, citing national security concerns.

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The ban on TikTok represents a critical national security measure to protect Americans' data from potential exploitation by the Chinese government through ByteDance's ownership of the platform, making divestiture essential for continued operation in the US.

CBS

NBC

Establishment-critical narrative

The removal of TikTok from app stores constitutes an unnecessary disruption to a vital communication platform used by millions of Americans and small businesses, while the security concerns are overblown given that most of ByteDance's ownership is held by global institutional investors.