Apple and Google have removed TikTok from their app stores, complying with a U.S. law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest the app or face a ban.
The move comes after the Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in April.
The removal of TikTok from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store means users in the U.S. can no longer download the app.
On Apple’s App Store, users attempting to access TikTok’s page are greeted with the message: “This app is currently not available in your country or region.”
Similarly, the Google Play Store displays: “We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.”
TikTok also informed users of the app’s impending shutdown in a notice on its platform
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned app that had recently gained popularity, also issued a similar notice “Sorry, Lemon8 isn’t available right now.”
Backstory
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its controlling stake in the app within six months or face a ban in the United States.
The legislation aimed to address national security concerns over TikTok’s data collection practices and its alleged ties to the Chinese government.
- In May 2024, TikTok challenged the bill in court, calling it an “extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights.” The lawsuit sought to block the law, arguing that it violated the First Amendment protections for TikTok’s millions of US users.
- By August 2024, the US government filed a separate lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of unlawfully collecting children’s data and failing to address parental requests to delete their children’s accounts. This added to the mounting scrutiny of TikTok’s operations in the country.
- In December 2024, a federal appeals court rejected TikTok’s legal bid to overturn the law, further solidifying the legislation’s path toward enforcement.
- Lawyers representing TikTok and its content creators then took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the law violated free speech protections for the platform’s 170 million US users.
- They highlighted TikTok’s role as a vital outlet for expression, creativity, and community engagement.
- However, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law, citing national security concerns as a compelling justification for its enforcement. The justices ruled that ByteDance must divest its US operations by January 19, 2025, or face an effective ban.
While acknowledging TikTok’s value to its users, the court affirmed Congress’s authority to act in the interest of national security.
Potential buyers for TikTok
Several bids for TikTok’s U.S. operations have emerged. CNBC reported that AI startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid, proposing a partnership with TikTok’s U.S. operations.
“We, I believe, are the only bidder that meets the necessary criteria of disentangling the technology from the Chinese algorithm.”
Businessman Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty also expressed interest, with McCourt stating: