TikTok app unavailable in America on Apple’s App Store despite President Trump delaying ban
On Tuesday, TikTok was still not accessible on the Apple and Google app stores in the U.S., following President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order the day before. This order postponed the implementation of a ban on the popular Chinese-owned short-video app by 75 days.
This decision was made against the backdrop of increasing uncertainty about TikTok’s future, which had gone offline on Saturday, just before a new law, based on national security concerns, was set to take effect on Sunday. This law demanded that ByteDance, the Chinese company owning TikTok, sell the app or face exclusion from the U.S. market.
Reuters:
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump’s assurances that the company and its partners would not face hefty fines to keep the app running, it was yet to return to the app stores.
The delay, analysts doubted, could be because Google and Apple are awaiting additional protections before bypassing the ban that punishes the companies for hosting or distributing the app.
Apple’s App Store said, “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in”, while Google Play said, “Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements”.
MacDailyNews Note: President Trump on Monday issued an executive order, “APPLICATION OF PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATIONS ACT TO TIKTOK,” which states, in part:
I am instructing the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.
I hereby order the Attorney General not to take any action on behalf of the United States to enforce the Act for 75 days from the date of this order, to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok. During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating) of any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act.
The full executive order can be read here.
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