Apple will keep TikTok available on its US App Store for at least another 75 days, following assurances from US Attorney General Pam Bondi that the company will not face penalties for continuing to host the app while a new ownership deal is finalised.
The decision follows President Donald Trump’s executive order issued last Friday, which extended the pause on a looming ban of TikTok in the US. The extension gives ByteDance – the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok – until June 18 to complete a divestment of the app’s US operations.
In a letter sent to Apple and seen by Bloomberg, Bondi advised the tech giant to comply with the executive order and confirmed the company would not be in breach of US law by maintaining TikTok on the App Store during the grace period. Apple declined to comment.
TikTok, which was briefly removed from the App Store earlier this year, was reinstated in February after a similar letter of assurance from Bondi. The app continues to be available on Google Play as well, although Google has not issued a statement.
US officials are still in talks with a consortium of American investors, including Oracle, Blackstone, and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, to create a US-based version of TikTok, dubbed ‘TikTok America’.
Under the proposed structure, outside investors would own 50% of the new US entity, ByteDance’s existing American investors would hold about 30%, and ByteDance itself would retain a minority stake of just under 20%.
The previous version of the deal appeared close to closing but was derailed after Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on imports from key trading partners, including a hike that raised duties on Chinese goods to 54%.
Despite the tariff roadblock, Trump remains bullish on finding a solution that allows TikTok to remain operational in the US, citing the app’s popularity. “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally,” he said earlier this year.
Both the Trump and former Biden administrations have cited national security risks as a key reason for pressuring ByteDance to divest its US TikTok operations. Concerns stem from Chinese data laws that could compel companies like ByteDance to hand over user data to Beijing upon request.
With TikTok having tens of millions of active users in the US, lawmakers have grown increasingly wary of the platform’s data practices and potential influence, particularly among younger demographics.
If a US-led deal isn’t completed by the new June 18 deadline, the app once again faces removal from US platforms – pending further executive or judicial intervention. Meanwhile, speculation continues about who may emerge as the ultimate buyer of TikTok’s American assets, with reports that Amazon has submitted a bid.
For now, the clock is ticking – but TikTok stays live.
