Image credit: The Byteline

TikTok is once again available for download on Apple and Google app stores in the U.S. after the Trump administration assured tech giants that the previously announced ban would not yet be enforced.

The Chinese-owned social media platform, which boasts more than 170 million American users, briefly went dark last month as a government-imposed deadline loomed.

However, President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension until April 5, giving its parent company, ByteDance, more time to comply with a law requiring the app to be sold to a neutral party.

According to Bloomberg, which first reported the app’s return, Apple and Google received direct assurances from the Trump administration that they would not face legal consequences for continuing to offer TikTok for download.

The ban itself, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden, received bipartisan support in Congress and was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Biden’s administration had argued that TikTok posed a national security threat, citing concerns over potential Chinese government influence and data privacy risks. Beijing and TikTok have consistently denied those allegations, with China refusing demands to sell the platform’s U.S. operations.

Trump, who had previously supported banning the app during his first term, shifted his stance last year, expressing a newfound appreciation for the platform.

During his presidential campaign, he credited TikTok for helping his content gain billions of views and even received a thank-you message from the app when it was reinstated for U.S. users last month.

Following his electoral victory in November, TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and later attended his inauguration ceremony.

Trump has since indicated that he is open to a compromise that aligns with the intent of the law rather than enforcing a full sale. He has floated the idea of TikTok being jointly owned, suggesting, “Buy it and give half to the U.S., half, and we’ll give you a permit.”

Potential buyers have already begun circling, with Trump naming Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and billionaire Elon Musk—who now heads his administration’s Department of Government Efficiency—as possible investors.

Other names linked to a potential acquisition include businessman Frank McCourt, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, and even YouTube superstar Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, who claimed investors reached out to him after he publicly expressed interest in buying the app.

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