Last Saturday, TikTok narrowly avoided what could have been its final day in the United States, as President Donald Trump extended the deferment of the ban for another 75 days. At the same time, Apple sought clear legal guarantees to continue offering the app to American users. According to Bloomberg, citing internal sources, Apple received a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi, demanding compliance with Trump’s decision to extend the ban postponement. The letter confirmed the need for Apple to retain TikTok in its store while the deferment remains in place.
President Trump explained that the additional time was necessary for the approval process of the upcoming deal to separate TikTok’s American operations. The potential ban was first introduced on January 19, the day before Trump officially assumed office. However, after a brief interruption, the app resumed functioning. Trump later signed a decree delaying the ban until April 5. Since then, he has repeatedly stated that the ban would only be enforced if no agreement on TikTok’s American assets was reached by that deadline.
Temporary Removal Sparks Market Distortion
Apple took several weeks to reinstate TikTok to its U.S. App Store. As a result, TikTok’s absence created a brief surge in demand for iPhones with the app pre-installed. This led to a secondary market where used smartphones were priced significantly higher than new ones. Fortunately, this time no such disruption is expected, as TikTok remains available for download on both iOS and Android devices in the United States.
Last week, discussions about the potential deal to anchor TikTok’s U.S. presence were actively underway, with several parties expressing interest in participation, reminds NIX Solutions. The deal is expected to reduce the stake of Chinese parent company ByteDance in TikTok’s American business to below 20%. From the U.S. government’s perspective, such a structure would ensure that the Chinese side holds no significant control over the platform’s operations for its American user base, which exceeds 170 million.
For now, TikTok continues to operate in the U.S., and Apple and Google users can access the app without restrictions. Yet we’ll keep you updated as more developments unfold regarding the platform’s future.