Washington [US], January 22: TikTok remained unavailable on Apple and Google app stores in the U.S. on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of a ban on the popular Chinese-owned short-video app by 75 days.
The order came amid growing doubts on the future of the app that went dark on Saturday, shortly before a law that cited national security to say the Chinese owner ByteDance should sell it or face a ban in the U.S. came into effect on Sunday.
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump's assurances that the company and its partners would not face hefty fines to keep the app running, it was yet to return to the app stores.
The delay, analysts doubted, may be because Google and Apple are awaiting additional protections before bypassing the ban that punishes the companies for hosting or distributing the app.
Apple's App Store said, "TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you're in", while Google Play showed, "Downloads for this app are paused due to current U.S. legal requirements".
Google, Apple and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC he had paused his bid for TikTok as China was unwilling to negotiate, but will be "very interested" in investing.
Mnuchin described TikTok as a "terrific business" and said he and his partners had plans to rebuild its technology.
Bill Ford, CEO of TikTok investor General Atlantic, also told CNBC there were ways to change TikTok's U.S. ownership that do not necessarily involve its sale and that the app's parent company was already 60% by non-Chinese shareholders.
Mnuchin and Ford did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
ByteDance is nearly 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation
