By Aaron Tilley, Amrith Ramkumar and Dana Mattioli
Apple and Google were restoring the TikTok app to their mobile app stores Thursday night, weeks after removing it to comply with a U.S. law that required TikTok's Chinese parent to sell it or shut it down.
The iPhone maker decided to restore the app after a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to a person familiar with the matter.
TikTok's reinstatement to the biggest app stores is critical to its continued growth in the U.S., where it has roughly 170 million users. Consumers who had already downloaded the app before it was removed from the app stores were still able to use it.
Apple and Google previously kept TikTok off their app stores after receiving letters about two weeks ago from the Justice Department before Bondi was confirmed reassuring them they wouldn't face legal consequences for restoring the popular video-sharing app, according to people familiar with the matter.
The tech giants removed TikTok from their app stores in January because of the possibility they could face legal consequences for letting users download the Chinese-controlled app. President Trump is trying to arrange a deal to keep TikTok alive in the U.S. after signing an executive order on Inauguration Day delaying enforcement of the law passed last year requiring TikTok to shed its Chinese ownership or close in the U.S.
Trump's executive order directed the Justice Department to give companies doing business with TikTok assurances they wouldn't face legal consequences while a deal is negotiated. Some legal experts have said companies continuing to do business with TikTok could be seen as not complying with the law while they wait for a resolution. The Supreme Court upheld the law banning TikTok before Trump issued his executive order.
The Justice Department, then under Acting Attorney General James McHenry, followed the order's instructions by sending letters to Apple, Google and Oracle, which provides cloud services to TikTok and could be involved in a deal to give the U.S. control of the app, the people said. The stance is an about-face from that of the Biden administration, under which the Justice Department made a forceful case that the app poses a national-security threat.
Restoring the app to app stores wasn't a sure thing for the companies because they could still face some legal risks for companies doing business with TikTok, analysts have said. That is in part because executive orders can be challenged in court and Trump could change his mind about a deal. They would face hefty fines if found to be in violation of the law. Members of Congress who support the law to ban TikTok could also lash out.
Additionally, there are complicated business factors at play. Google's YouTube video-sharing platform has advertised to TikTok users and would be one of the biggest beneficiaries if the app is banned in the U.S.
Tech executives donated millions of dollars to Trump's inauguration, and some have eliminated programs he dislikes, such as fact-checking as well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Apple and Google, which is part of Alphabet, face ongoing federal antitrust cases and are hoping for favorable federal regulations for artificial intelligence that support the billions of dollars they are investing in the technology.
After previously trying to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump has given priority to saving the app at the start of his second term. He amassed about 15 million followers on the platform and used it to reach young voters before November's election. He has suggested a new U.S. sovereign-wealth fund could be involved in a deal and touted interest from such companies as Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon.com, but it is unclear what form a transaction might take.
If a deal to save TikTok isn't done by the early-April deadline, Trump could extend it.
Write to Aaron Tilley at aaron.tilley@wsj.com, Amrith Ramkumar at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com and Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 13, 2025 21:41 ET (02:41 GMT)
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