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TikTok might not return to app stores anytime soon

The TikTok logo on a white pink and blue background

Last week, Donald Trump issued an executive order to temporarily restore TikTok operations in the US, but the ByteDance-owned app hasn't yet returned to Google and Apple app stores.

After months of back and forth, the US Supreme Court finally ruled that TikTok must be sold to an American company or halt its operations in the country. However, TikTok's shutdown was overturned 12 hours later by the new US president, Donald Trump, right after he entered the White House.

Despite being granted a respite, TikTok is not yet available in both Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. Additionally, all sides have remained tight-lipped about when the app might return to the app stores, leaving impacted users in uncertainty. TikTok's absence in app stores means neither users can update their previously installed app nor any new user can install it.

However, the delay in TikTok's return to the app stores may be due to the looming threat of penalties for the app's service providers. According to US laws, TikTok's partners, including Google and Apple, could face fines of up to $5,000 per user who accesses TikTok through their platform. In essence, TikTok's US partners are at risk of incurring a staggering $850 billion in penalties.

TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, a developer of Marvel Snap, another ByteDance-owned app, has recently said they expect Marvel Snap to return to app stores as early as next week. In addition to TikTok, any other ByteDance-owned app is removed from app stores.

TikTok is now under a 75-day deadline to sever ties with ByteDance and sell at least 50% of its stake to a US company. This impending deadline could mean that TikTok might not be allowed back into the app stores until the end of this period, adding more pressure on the app to expedite the selling process.

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