The Chinese-owned app was initially removed from these platforms on January 18, as Tiktok’s leadership halted its service in the U.S. This cessation was in response to a U.S. national security law that took effect the next day, potentially impacting TikTok’s operations.
Nearly a month has passed since the app was removed, but it is now available for download once again. TikTok’s absence from the stores was a result of legal and security issues related to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed by former President Joe Biden. This law, effective from April, mandated that China’s ByteDance divest its U.S. TikTok operations by January 19 or face a ban.
TikTok has persistently argued that the law infringes on the First Amendment rights of its 170 million U.S. users, while the U.S. government has expressed concerns over ByteDance’s ownership and its potential ties to the Chinese government. The Supreme Court sided with the U.S. administration, stating that congressional concerns about national security warranted a divestiture of TikTok’s U.S. data collection operations.
In response to potential shutdowns, TikTok considered halting its U.S. operations unless the Biden administration reconsidered its stance. However, President Donald Trump intervened, delaying the enforcement of the divestiture deadline by 75 days, now pushing it to April 5. On his Truth Social platform, Trump expressed the desire for a new ownership structure, suggesting the U.S. could take a 50% stake in a joint venture to manage TikTok’s operations, which he believed would ensure its security and continuity.
Despite the legal battles and its temporary removal, TikTok has managed to recover approximately 90% of its pre-removal traffic, according to data from Cloudflare Radar shared in late January. This indicates that user engagement and demand for the app remained strong, even amidst uncertainty about its future in the U.S.
TikTok’s journey back to the app stores highlights ongoing tensions between U.S. data security concerns and the freedoms of a popular social media platform. With the looming deadline for divestiture extended, the future of TikTok’s operations in the U.S. remains uncertain. However, its quick recovery in user engagement underscores its significant presence and influence in the social media landscape.
