Washington Washington. TikTok became unavailable on the Apple and Google app stores in the US on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the ban on the popular Chinese-owned short-video app by 75 days. The order comes amid growing doubt over the future of the app, which shut down on Saturday, shortly before a law took effect citing national security that said Chinese owner ByteDance must sell it or Should face sanctions in America.
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump assured that the company and its partners would not have to pay huge fines to keep the app running, it is not back on the App Store yet. Analysts suspect the delay may be because Google and Apple are waiting for additional protections to be put in place before bypassing the ban that penalizes companies for hosting or distributing apps. Apple's App Store said, “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you are in”, while Google Play said, “Downloads of this app are blocked due to current US legal requirements”.
Google, Apple and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. Bill Ford, CEO of TikTok investor General Atlantic, told CNBC on Tuesday that there are ways to change TikTok's US ownership that do not involve its sale.
“I don't think it means disinvestment,” he said, referring to the law banning TikTok. He said 60 percent of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is held by non-Chinese shareholders. About 60 percent of ByteDance is held by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees hold 20 percent each. Is.
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