 "TikTok app with the message \"Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now\" are seen in this illustration taken, on January 19, 2025. Reuters File")
A day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of a ban on TikTok by 75 days, the popular Chinese-owned short-video app remained unavailable on Apple and Google app stores in the US on Tuesday.
The order was issued amid increasing uncertainty about the app’s future, which went dark on Saturday, just before a law took effect on Sunday requiring its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it or face a ban due to national security concerns.
While TikTok resumed its services following Trump’s assurances that the company and its partners would not incur hefty fines to continue operating, it has not yet returned to the app stores.
According to Reuters, citing analysts, the delay may 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 showed, “Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements”.
Google, Apple and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC he had paused his bid for TikTok as China was unwilling to negotiate, but will be “very interested” in investing.
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More Shorts“The idea would be to transfer all technology so it no longer engages with ByteDance going forward,” Mnuchin said.
Mnuchin described TikTok as a “terrific business” and said he and his partners had plans to rebuild its technology.
Bill Ford, CEO of TikTok investor General Atlantic, also told CNBC there were ways to change TikTok’s US ownership that do not necessarily involve its sale and that the app’s parent company was already 60% by non-Chinese shareholders.
Mnuchin and Ford did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
ByteDance is nearly 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each.
With inputs from agencies