Apple will add TikTok to App Store after DOJ letter

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will restore TikTok to its App Store, allowing users to once again download the Chinese social media app after receiving a letter from the justice department, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently sent a letter to the iPhone maker calling on it to restore TikTok, the Bloomberg report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Apple, along with Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), had in January removed the social media app from its store to comply with a Congress-approved ban that went into effect from January 19. TikTok had also briefly suspended its U.S. services. 

But U.S. President Donald Trump had then passed an executive order postponing the ban, giving TikTok more time to find a U.S. partner and meet regulatory requirements. Reports suggested that several major U.S. tech companies, such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), could purchase a stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk was also seen potentially pursuing TikTok. 

TikTok- which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance- began restoring services immediately after Trump’s order, and is accessible to users who already have the app downloaded on their devices. 

Trump, in his executive order, told the attorney general to not take any action in the next 75 days to enforce the TikTok ban. 

The Bloomberg report comes just hours after Trump said he could extend his 75-day delay on the TikTok ban, but that he did not see the need to do so.