Less than a month after removing TikTok from their U.S. app stores in response to a new law mandating the app to divest from its China-based parent company, the social media platform made its return to both the Apple and Google Play stores late Thursday night.
A Google representative confirmed to CBS News that TikTok had been restored to its app store, and the app was also visible in the Apple store. CBS News has reached out to Apple for further comments.
This development followed a report by Bloomberg stating that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Apple and Google that the new law would not be enforced immediately.
Lawmakers and national security officials expressed increasing concern that ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, could leverage the popular short-form video app to spy on American users or manipulate the content they encounter on the platform.
A bipartisan bill was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in April 2024, granting TikTok until January 19 to sever ties with ByteDance or face the loss of access to app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S.
Though TikTok and ByteDance contested the law, it was upheld by the Supreme Court just days before its implementation, which cited national security risks due to the app’s data collection practices.
When the deadline arrived last month, TikTok temporarily and voluntarily ceased operations in the U.S. The app was also removed from the Apple and Google Play stores, even as the Biden administration indicated that enforcement would be left to the incoming Trump administration.
However, merely one day later, coinciding with his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order instructing the Justice Department to refrain from enforcing the law for at least 75 days.
During this period, TikTok remained functional for users in the U.S. who had already installed the app, although they could not receive updates while it was unavailable in the app stores.
