Scoop: Google temporarily brings TikTok back to app store
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Google has brought TikTok back to its App Store, Axios has confirmed, but it will only keep the app available till the end of President Trump's 75-day extension of the ban on the app, a source familiar with the company's efforts told Axios.
Why it matters: TikTok is still in legal limbo, but its app will soon be available once again on Google and Apple platforms.
Between the lines: Confusion around whether President Trump had the constitutional authority to direct the Justice Department not to enforce a ban passed by Congress had forced private companies like Google and its rival Apple to decide whether it was worth risking large fines to keep the app available.
Driving the news: The app is now available in the Google Play store and will be available for download through Google's app store across all platforms, including smart TV operating systems, a source familiar with its thinking said.
- Apple will also reinstate the TikTok app in its own app store on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoom in: The company received assurances from the DOJ that resuming app store access to ByteDance and TikTok wouldn't violate the law, helping to ease any concerns about possible legal scrutiny or fines, the source said.
Catch up quick: The TikTok ban went into effect on Jan. 19 after Congress passed a law to ban the app unless it sold to a U.S. company.
- Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 that directed the DOJ not to enforce the TikTok ban for 75 days.
- But most private companies continued to bar the app, fearing the hefty fines that would come with breaking the law, even at the direction of the president.
What to watch: While some U.S. investors have expressed interest in buying TikTok, any deal to acquire the app would likely face hurdles in winning the approval of China's government, which would have a say.
- President Trump has suggested that the U.S. government could be part of a deal to buy the company.
