Recent days have been quite eventful for TikTok in the U.S. The app was taken offline on Saturday night, and Apple removed it from their App Store. However, by Sunday afternoon, TikTok was able to restore its service in the U.S. following “essential clarity” offered by President Trump.
Even with TikTok operational again in the U.S., it still remains absent from the App Store. Here’s a breakdown of the continually changing situation.
A concise timeline of the TikTok controversy
- In April 2024, President Biden enacted a ban that required TikTok’s China-linked parent company to divest from the app within nine months or risk a ban in the U.S.
- This deadline lapsed on January 19. TikTok opted to go dark in the U.S. on January 18 at 10:30 p.m. ET, despite not being obligated to do so. Instead, regulatory responsibilities primarily fell on TikTok’s partners, such as Oracle and the app store providers like Apple and Google.
- Following this, Apple removed TikTok from its U.S. App Store, citing an obligation to comply with the laws applicable to its operations.
- By around 12:30 p.m. on January 19, TikTok communicated that it was in the midst of “restoring service” in the U.S., attributing this action to the “clarity and assurance” provided by President Trump that service providers would not face penalties.
Despite TikTok being back online in the U.S., it has not been reinstated in the App Store, nor has it reappeared on the app stores of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. This absence is due to Oracle and its partners choosing to accept the risks of potentially massive fines in light of Trump’s assurance against enforcing the ban.
Conversely, major companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft seem unwilling to take that gamble, as discussed earlier.
Implications for TikTok users
For iPhone users, this situation has several implications. If you already have TikTok installed on your iPhone, you are still able to use the app. Apple did not remove TikTok from any devices, nor did it block access for existing users.
However, TikTok is still missing from the App Store, which hinders new users from downloading it. Users who previously uninstalled the app are also unable to reinstall it. Additionally, TikTok cannot receive any updates via the App Store, with the most recent update released last week.
For now, most features of the TikTok app for iPhone are operational since the company has restored access. For instance, TikTok’s goods marketplace, known as TikTok Shop, is functioning properly within the iPhone app, and Apple Pay is an available payment method.
The situation concerning digital purchases using Apple’s In-App Purchase system is a bit more nuanced.
- In-App Purchases made prior to the TikTok federal ban taking effect on Saturday night remain fully accessible.
- New In-App Purchases via the TikTok app for iPhone cannot be made, as Apple cannot legally support this under the federal ban provisions.
- However, digital purchases can still be made through the TikTok website, which are then accessible within the app on iPhone.
What lies ahead for TikTok remains uncertain. As I was preparing this piece, President Trump officially assumed office. He has suggested a possible 90-day delay in enforcing the TikTok ban and also expressed a desire for the U.S. to hold a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture regarding TikTok. It remains to be seen if ByteDance will agree to such terms.
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