The main line
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily halting a federal ban on TikTok after access to the app was restored before he took office, but while companies like Oracle have willingly put the app back online, Apple and app stores of Google still haven’t. They have yet to restore TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps—and they could open themselves up to legal liability if they do.
TikTok is seen in the Apple app store on a phone on March 13, 2024 in New York City.
Key facts
TikTok restored access to US users on Sunday afternoon after a brief outage after a federal law went into effect that bars companies from hosting TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps unless ByteDance gives up the apps, which the company-owned Chinese so far has not done it.
The company said it restored access “as a result of President Trump’s efforts” — even though he had not yet taken office — and Trump then signed an executive order on Monday directing his Justice Department not to enforce the law for 75 days, with intended to give his administration “an opportunity to determine the right path forward in an orderly manner that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown.”
Companies that handle TikTok user data in the US, including Oracle and Akamai, restored access to the app to bring it back online, according to NPR, but the app has yet to be returned to the Apple and Google app stores, which will says US users can’t download or update TikTok.
Neither Apple nor Google have responded to requests for comment on whether they plan to restore access to TikTok or other ByteDance-owned apps, though Apple has published a website informing US users that the company is “compelled to follow” the law that bans TikTok and other ByteDance. Proprietary applications, and thus users cannot download or update them.
The companies’ refusal so far to make TikTok available again is in line with legal experts’ predictions before the law took effect, as they suggested any assurances from Trump that he would not enforce the policy would likely not be enough to to get companies like Apple and Google to comply, given that they could still face legal liability if Trump were to reverse course and begin enforcing the ban.
University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rosenstein wrote for Lawfare on Tuesday that Trump’s assurances not to enforce the law “provide minimal security” for companies that violate it by restoring access to TikTok, noting that Trump “could change its mind at any time or selectively enforce against companies that fall out of political favor,” and the law’s five-year statute of limitations means future presidential administrations can continue to pursue violations. of the law.
Can I update the Tiktok app if it’s not in the App Store?
It’s still unclear if or when Apple and Google might bring TikTok back to their app stores. If a circumstance arises in which Trump puts the law on hold indefinitely and TikTok remains online but cannot be updated or downloaded, users will likely be unable to use TikTok, as the app will become increasingly outdated without the ability to update it. .
Which Bytedance apps are no longer on the App Store?
According to Apple, the list of apps owned by ByteDance or its affiliates that the company has removed from the App Store includes TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller Center, CapCut, Lemon8, Hypic, Lark – Team Collaboration, Lark – Rooms Display, Lark Rooms Controller, Gauth: AI Study Companion and MARVEL SNAP.
Why can’t Apple and Google bring Tiktok back online?
Rozenstein noted to Lawfare that there is a murky history of defendants avoiding legal consequences because of orders declaring something legal — as courts have ruled both for and against those defendants — but concluded that companies face risks to restore TikTok online. While there are some cases where courts have been more lenient, big companies like Apple and Google would face greater scrutiny for going against federal law and simply relying on Trump’s statements, Rosenstein argued. Courts are reluctant to be too lenient when it comes to executive orders like this, Rozenshtein noted, given that doing so could set a precedent that suggests presidents can simply overturn laws as much as they want by issuing orders saying that they will not be implemented.
Will Oracle and Akamai face penalties for restoring Tiktok?
While Trump and his Justice Department won’t punish the companies that restored access to TikTok anytime soon, Rozenstein suggested those companies could still face legal liability if Trump changes his mind or during the next presidential administration. Companies could be particularly targeted for the decision to bring TikTok back online even before Trump takes office, as Rosenstein noted that companies have “minimal defensive options” for restoring the service then. Trump was still a private citizen at the time, so his statements promising to keep the app legal carried no legal weight, Rozenstein noted. Oracle and Akamai have not yet responded to requests for comment about their decisions to restore service.
Big number
850 billion dollars. That’s how many companies that have restored access to TikTok could face fines if the government decides to enforce the TikTok ban and punish them for allowing access to the app. The law allows for a fine of $5,000 per user, and TikTok says its app is used by more than 170 million US users, though it’s likely not everyone has access to the app since the law took effect. Apple and Google will likely face smaller fines if they reinstate TikTok and are penalized for it, since those fines will only be calculated based on the number of people who downloaded or updated the app, versus those who actually used the app .
Will Trump take Bytedance to sell Tiktok?
ByteDance has so far given no public indication that it is willing to sell TikTok’s US assets, with TikTok previously arguing that doing so would not be logistically feasible. It remains to be seen whether that public position will change now that the law has officially gone into effect and Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on imports from China if the country’s government refuses to approve a sale of TikTok’s US assets. . Blocking the deal by China would be “definitely hostile and we’re going to impose tariffs of 25, 30, 50%, even 100%,” Trump told reporters on Monday, also arguing that the US should own a 50% of shares in TikTok’s US operations. Experts cited by The Washington Post before Trump’s inauguration suggested that China would likely strike a deal with Trump on TikTok as part of broader political negotiations between the two governments, although the country’s government did not rule out a sale of the moon. “For actions such as corporate operations and acquisitions, we always believe that they should be decided independently by companies based on market principles,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a statement.
Key background
The federal law outlawing TikTok took effect Sunday after a last-minute court battle after TikTok challenged the ban, which led to the Supreme Court upholding the federal law in a unanimous decision. While TikTok has argued that the law violates its First Amendment rights, Congress passed the law with bipartisan support last year, arguing that cracking down on the app was necessary because of the national security threat posed by Chinese ownership. of ByteDance. TikTok has long denied any ties to the Chinese government or wrongdoing, although Forbes has reported on numerous concerns involving the app, including TikTok spying on journalists, promoting Chinese propaganda critical of American politicians, misusing user data and tracking “sensitive” words. Trump signaled he planned to take action against the TikTok ban shortly before taking office, though it was still unclear what steps he would take until Sunday, when Trump said he planned to issue an executive order halting the ban. The president has justified his support for TikTok in part because of its popularity on the app, though his move to keep the app online marks an about-face from his first term, when he issued an executive order banning TikTok that was later overturned in the courts.
Further reading