TikTok has been reinstated to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android users after being removed from the platforms on January 18.
The Chinese-owned social media app returned Thursday evening, nearly a month after its removal.
The app had been taken down just before a national security law, signed by former US. President Joe Biden in April 2022, came into effect on January 19.
The law, which required China-based ByteDance to divest its US operations by the deadline or face an effective ban, was introduced amid rising concerns over the app's data collection practices and its potential links to the Chinese government. TikTok’s leadership had temporarily halted its US service in response to the law.
In the months leading up to the law's deadline, TikTok argued that the law violated the First Amendment rights of its 170 million US users.
The US government, however, maintained that TikTok's ownership by ByteDance and its connection to China posed a national security threat, citing the potential for data breaches or the app being used for influence operations.
The US Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration in January, upholding the decision for ByteDance to divest its operations. The Court stated that national security concerns around data collection and foreign adversary control of TikTok justified the law’s provisions.
Despite this setback, TikTok pushed back against the law, threatening to shut down its US operations unless the Biden administration intervened. Following these developments, former President Donald Trump postponed the law's enforcement, signing an executive order that extended the deadline by 75 days to April 5, 2023.
He also expressed interest in the US government holding a 50% ownership stake in a potential joint venture to "save TikTok" while ensuring its safe operation.
Though TikTok was absent from the app stores for almost a month, it has reportedly regained about 90% of its pre-ban traffic, according to data from Cloudflare Radar cited by CNBC in late January. This suggests the app’s user base has remained largely loyal, despite the ongoing legal and political challenges it faces in the US.
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